Welcome Home
by ochazuke
Summary: Drew poked May's arm lightly, waking her up from another daydream. "Ladies first, please. Welcome home." - Anime universe, Contestshipping, Shuuharu, May/Drew.
1. Chapter 1: The house

**[Welcome Home]**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: The house<strong>

LaRousse City! The famous metropolis where confluent rivers surround the Battle Tower and greater part of its beautiful land, famous due to its modern architecture and clean auto-sufficient energy system; an impressive place constructed by men and nature, the high technology core of Hoenn continent.

May was certainly feeling very anxious about all of this; leaving the train station, the young coordinator smiled to herself, having loads of fun watching the lively unstoppable city move around her feet. Cute Block Bots being helpful and nice, informative signs blinking colorful alerts, automatic streets flowing silently to their correct routes - all machines were working just fine. It was good to be back to this place in such peaceful days... No chaos and trouble with Rayquaza, Deoxys or any other mystic legendary creatures - enough with random epic fights in the skies of LaRousse!

To make this trip even better... _Summer holidays _time! A small break from the exciting but highly tiring and strict training routine; no need to worry and stress about registering for Contests and winning ribbons. Seven days to dedicate her free time enjoying the sunny city and joining the "Contest Week", the biggest and most important Contest-related event in the world! Lots of new people to meet and stuff to discover... That was certainly going to be a memorable vacation.

_Dududun, I wanna be the very best... Like no one ever waaaas..._

May was in ecstasy. Traveling and Contests, what else could she ask for? Dancing and singing an old favorite song by heart, the brunette jumped around the fountain with her imaginary microphone, as if she was singing on a crowded dream stage full of spotlights.

_Hello... Earth to May, Earth to May... May, are you listening?_

Suddenly, the glamorous rock star daydream faded away faster than a finger snap, crushed by an elegant mocking hand wave of disapproval. Back to real world, the girl scratched her head with a sheepish smile. Drew sighed, flicking his hair in a snobbish manner.

"Stop being a five years old kid, alright? People are staring at us with strange looks. I mean, maybe you could help... At least pretend you don't know me so they won't pity me as well. Any option is fine, pick the easiest one. Deal? Now stop being silly."

"Aww... You ruined my showtime!" May stopped her song and glared at the green-haired teen, answering his scold with a disappointed sigh. "Why can't you try being a little bit more imaginative and fun? That would be so nice..."

"Okay, then I will pretend I don't know you." The boy declared, shrugging his shoulders. "Starting your _little bit more imaginative and fun _request in three, two, one..."

"Here we go." Drew snapped his fingers and blank-stared at the horizon, as if he could see through his rival. "Alright, it's so much better now."

"Dreeeeeeew!" In reaction to the mocking answer, the coordinator girl furrowed her eyebrows and inflated her cheeks like an angry Jigglypuff. May felt her head getting hot under her green bandanna. "Argh, you are exaggerating stuff only to annoy and make me feel bad, aren't you?"

"Hahaha... Trust me, when you get lost in your own world... I think you attract curious glances as much as Harley does when he breathes."

"_What?_!" The girl shouted back in surprise, not happy with such dreadful comparison. "No way!"

"Why would I lie to you?"

"I won't fall for that this time!..." May pouted, putting her hands on her hips. "Drew, stop trying to fool me. C'mon, I am not _that _weird! Prove me that I am a freak... Besides, you can't blame me for being impressed with your city, it's so incredibly cool and-"

Hearing some loud voices, the brunette turned her head to the left and saw a small group of children laughing and pointing fingers at her. Giving them a very awkward and embarrassed smile, she didn't bother (or better saying it, she didn't want) to watch Drew shrugging his shoulders in victory and walking away from her.

"I have no idea to whom are you talking to, I don't know you and you don't know me..." The boy grinned, singing each word to drive his rival crazy. "Just keep following my lead..."

"Ahhh, yooooou!"

"My place, my rules... _Fair, isn't it?_" Without looking back, Drew teased her speaking in a cocky tone, "I am only helping you, you can't really complain about this, right? Want to spend all your pennies in a lame poor hotel?"

The boy smirked. "Go ahead, Pokemon Centers are full and LaRousse is a quite expensive city. And because of CW, I'm pretty sure all places are also full anyway. Or else... I see, so you want to start a new legacy being the first homeless airhead living in LaRousse streets? How depressing..."

He didn't need to turn his back to know his dear rival was boiling like a Magmar in rage from the tip of her toes to the top of her head. Drew was quite aware the tickets for the Contest Week were painfully expensive to obtain; offering May his place made his good boy side smile... After all, that would be a great opportunity to have fun and watch the brunette enjoy her summer trip.

Of course this simple invitation was also an incredible chance to provoke his favorite girl all day long - without being interrupted by Ash, Brock and Max or Harley and Solidad; his bad boy side also got a smile on his face.

Bigger than the one from the good boy side.

"You're just awful. Heartless rich jerk. Mean greasy grass-haired monster. Ugly green arrogant poisoned jelly Tentacool. Cruel b-"

"Glad to know I am still sharp..." Drew waved a red rose in his hand, still not looking at her. "Do you like roses, May?"

"Huh? I... Yeah, they're pretty. Wow..." Amazed by the beautiful flower, May got a little bit distracted and lost in her words. "I mean... W-Why, is that rose for-"

"No, this one is not for you neither for Beautifly... I'm only teasing you." As expected, the green-haired teen heard the sound of someone gagging in surprise and tripping on the floor. "Oops, did I disappoint you? Guess I crushed somebody's dream. Oh well, isn't that funny?"

"Drewwwww!"

* * *

><p>May kept following Drew's indifferent steps in angry stomps until they reached to a lower part of the city, covered by few narrow streets and lots of green everywhere - several trees, bushes and arches.<p>

Minutes later, few small houses popped up in the curious scenario. All painted in white and surrounded by a classic and nostalgic look, they reminded May of some dollhouses she used to love as a kid - pretty, delicate and filled with gorgeous flowers in their windows. This place was clearly less influenced by the technology that covered greater part of LaRousse; up in the horizon, the tall windmills were moving gently with the fresh breeze.

"Drew... Wow."

The coordinator girl shyly admired the residences, the nature and the deep blue sky above them. Everything looked so ideal and pretty that she felt a bit lost in her thoughts once again.

"Like it?"

"Yeah... It's the perfect scoop for May's fantastic journey!"

"Welcome to our show!" With fingers set as a photo frame, May started recording another episode of her dream TV show. She grinned to her rival, pointing an imaginary microphone to him. "How does it feel living in paradise, Mr Rose?"

"Mr Rose? What a lame nickname..." Drew sighed; however, a glimpse of a smile slipped from his lips. "This place is beautiful... Feels great living here."

He stopped walking in front of the girl, waiting for her this time. It was just a small gesture but it made her run after him without notice she was laughing in pure happiness.

May always imagined that her rival was an insanely rich kid who lived in a huge and expensive mansion full of loyal maids and butlers, lots of luxury and gold flooding through the infinite diamond corridors. She probably wasn't the first one to fall for that idea but...

Few steps later, the place they stopped at... Matched him perfectly as well.

"That's my house."

It was the very last house from an area that leaded to a small pier; not much bigger than the other houses but it was very classy and nice looking - so much like Drew. Unfortunately, the garden was surprisingly empty; it didn't have any flowers.

"Oh." Noticing May's disappointed glance to the empty spot, Drew quickly added. "Well, since I was going to stay away from home for a long time... I gave everything I had to the neighbors. I mean, I know they would help me taking care of my flowers but... I don't like leaving them alone, you know?"

The boy opened his bag to get the keycard and one of his pokeballs. He let his partner free while unlocking the door; Roserade quickly jumped to Drew's shoulder and stared anxiously at the flower vases from the window garden, feeling somehow calm and nostalgic. Judging by its happiness, the brunette guessed that Roserade used to live in that place during its Budew and Roselia days.

"Aww..." May smiled to the flower Pokemon, watching it play with Drew's hair in an adorable way. "Good to be back to home, huh?"

"Since we're staying here for a whole week and no major continental Contests are scheduled 'til next two months... I guess it's fine getting some flowers to this place again." The green-haired boy flicked his hair. "You can take them to Petalburg when you leave, how about that? Want to help Roserade with rose buds?"

"Can roses bloom that quickly?" The girl opened her mouth in surprise. "Wow... How?"

"You will see what Roserade is able to do besides being a great Pokemon for Contests."

"That would be great! Oh, by the way, can I release the others too?"

"Sure. They deserve some rest as well".

The coordinator girl grabbed the pokeballs from her purse and Drew's bag and threw them in the air.

They all found a special spot to stay as soon as May opened the capsules. Beautifly gently flew up to the sky gliding through the fresh breeze with Masquerain and Butterfree. Wartotle saw the pier and immediatly ran and jumped straight to the water. Flygon opened its wide stylish wings and sat next to Venusaur and Blaziken, both sunbathing nearby the pier - while Munchlax laid by their shadow ready to take a nap. The coordinator girl giggled watching Absol playing hide-and-seek with Skitty, searching and running after the crazy pink feline.

_This is going to be great, I know it!_

It was a very warm and good feeling... Drew poked May's arm lightly, waking her up from another daydream.

"Ladies first, please. Welcome home".

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><p>AN: Hi, it's been some years since I stopped writing fanfiction in English... It's not my native language so forgive me for some bizarre mistakes, typos and phrasing style. I promise I'll try to do my best!

As the title suggests, this story will focus more in May and Drew's interactions in their free time than during the event itself... but don't worry, I didn't erase it off completely from the plot. The main draft of the story is actually here in my notepad ready to be uploaded, however I am planning to update each chapter in slowly and in small bits... I need to edit several stuff and fix some chapters.

It was supposed to be a collection of one-shots but then it ended up getting multichaptered and awfully long lol! I put some old shortfics of mine inside the main plot, it is a bit slice-of-life-ish so be warned if you find this kind of story boring :x I plan to make my next fic a bit more filled with adventure, I promise xD

Anyway, it is filled with tension, bickering, flufflyness and funny moments that we all love so much in Contestshipping: profit anyway ;) Enjoy!

About this chapter, at the moment Glaceon is not with May since trainers can only carry six pokeballs at once, the ice Eeveelution is at Caroline/Norman's care. And yeah, I personally think Drew doesn't live in a huge mansion neither with multiple older sisters xD

See you soon!


	2. Chapter 2: The plans

**Chapter 2: The Plans**

May entered the house and slowly scanned the small living room with lively and curious eyes. It was a very cosy and clean-stylish place with a big sofa and lots of bookshelves. Another opened door headed to the kitchen, where a beautiful blue view could be appreciated through large window panels.

"So the stairs next to that door must lead to Drew's room..." She guessed, trying to imagine what it looked like.

Some odd details caught her attention. The first thing she noticed was the way the place was set; most likely, no one had been there in the house for a while. There was a newspaper on the table talking about Kanto's past Grand Festival - Drew trashed it away right after he noticed May was reading it out loud with a puzzled look.

The second thing... It certainly looked like as if the place was designed for a single person. There was enough room for more people but everything was set for one; one chair for the table, one big sofa with one big puff, one umbrella standing at the wall, one apron hanging on the kitchen's door knob...

Differently from Ash's home or her own house, there were no sign of family and friends photos on the walls. Did he live there alone by himself? Where were his parents? Perhaps they lived abroad, maybe they got divorced in the past... Were they still alive?...

Was she speculating too much?

The third and last thought made her cheeks go mildly scarlet... Didn't that mean they were together and alone by themselves for a whole week? Against her will, a faint image of Harley popped up her mind saying that not really subtle line...

_How touching... It's dangerous, two kids alone like this!_

May felt the temperature of the room getting oddly high; luckily, Drew didn't notice her burning red face. "Give me your stuff, I'll go upstairs with the bags. We should leave soon and get the train, I don't want to miss the opening speech. I promised Solidad I would be there... Let's move, go go go go go."

"Solidad? That's nice, I didn't know she was coming to CW!" Drew smirked to the naïve comment, making May embarrassed again. "Eh, ahahaha silly me, of course she is coming to such big event, right... Uh, anyway, it will be great to see her again! I wonder if..."

__It's dangerous!...__

"...Is Harley by any chance..."

"Oh Harley," the boy sighed, slowly and dramatically. He groaned in annoyance but quickly tried to pretend he wasn't bothered by that name. "Yeah, your _dear _weird friend will be there. Don't worry, I am sure he will find us... He's a pro stalker. Harley is... Harley."

"Hey!..." May didn't like the emphasis on the words _your dear (weird) friend_ but she controlled herself. The brunette decided to not argue with Drew about his hatred against the flamboyant purple-haired man: they wouldn't get anything good by discussing about... Harley. "Sigh, nevermind... Let's go! Today will be a great day!"

"I hope so..."

"It will be, believe me!" The brunette smiled with confidence, clenching her fists. "Let's go!"

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><p>Sitting in the window seat on the right side of the train, May admired the landscape quietly, resting her head in her arms. LaRousse was slightly different from the other cities in Hoenn; the young girl was impressed, how did it manage to be so advanced and still deeply in touch with nature? Petalburg was so rural and small compared to that...<p>

Drew stopped paying attention to his magazine to watch May lose herself in her thoughts. However, she immediately noticed a faint reflection of certain emerald eyes following her moves; after a couple of minutes being observed, she raised her head and crossed her arms, whining.

"Why are you looking at me this way? I'm just watching the landscape, there is nothing weird or funny about that... _This time_, at least." The boy just grinned in answer, making her whine again. "Ehh... Don't laugh at me..."

"Hmm? I'm not _laughing_ at you..." Drew teased, still grinning in a playfully annoying way. "Am I?"

"Aww c'mon... Why do you enjoy so much harassing me?"

No answer. After few awkward seconds, May got annoyed and started looking at the ceiling - to avoid being cornered by the mysterious stare of her rival. As a mocky answer to her reaction, he just kept looking at her, smiling deviously and resting his face on his left hand.

After a few more awkward seconds staring up to nowhere, she grabbed her purse and took a small handkerchief from its pocket. "Ok, I got it now. You won, now help me please."

"What's that for?" Drew raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something on my face? I know this is funny but I can't see it. Tell me what's wrong."

"..."

Silence.

"...May, you never cease to impress me. Thanks for that, don't you _ever_ change."

"What?..." The brunette blinked in confusion. "Change what?"

Drew rolled up his eyes and sighed, slightly amused. "Nothing... I'm just messing with you, silly airhead. Don't worry, you're just fine. So, changing the topic... What are your plans for CW?"

"CW? What is... Ah, the CW! I want to enjoy it as much as I can but... Well, some activities are too expensive. I'm sticking to free stuff, I guess. Oh, especially if it's something related to prizes, food and fun, yummy!... By the way," the girl immediately added after hearing another long sigh, "Drew, stop it!"

"Then stop giving me reasons to do that." The boy sighed again. "Anyway... Really, nothing special in mind? I'm sure even if you had infinite money and time you wouldn't attend to all events, too many stuff to see, it's way too tiring and not everything is that interesting, you know..."

"It's my first time, I am a bit confused... I know there is a timetable for that and I know it was supposed to be useful, but..." May scratched the back of her head in disconcert. "I got totally lost in that thing. Max said he could help me since it was so obvious but... Ehh I got too embarrassed to ask him, is that really easy and obvious to use?"

"The CW pass?" Drew picked up the red passport, a small document file with a pokeball and the Pokemon League logo in the featuring cover art. "You don't know how to use it?"

"Yeah, that one! There are dozen of activities marked on that inside list, it's so complicated... How did you plan your stuff using that?"

"Ah... Check out mine, maybe it will help you. Just cross out what's not interesting for you... Select what you really want to see... Cross out the absurdly expensive stuff... And _voilà_, your troubles are gone."

The boy opened the passport to the confused girl. She noticed that many activities were marked in red pen and some of them were subscribed with small handwritten notes; everything was very organized, her eyes and mouth opened wider in awe. He smiled in vanity, enjoying her cute impressed expression.

"Give me a pen, I will help you."

May sat closer to his seat and answered some questions, nodding her head quietly. Meanwhile, Drew scribbled on the paper, helping his rival fix her timetable.

_Contests around the Continents_. _Pokeblock workshop_. Of course, watching the _Appeals Exhibition_! _Beauty and Fashion tips_. _Double Battle Contest Strategies Debate_...

Drew paused writing for an instant to look at May; she replied it with a happy smile.

She really liked these simple nice gestures. Without doubt, their personal fiery rivalry made her blood burn with passion and that felt good; however, deep inside her heart... She wondered if she enjoyed this warm feeling of closeness and friendship better.

May believed it was much easier to deal with Ash than Drew in this aspect; the coordinator girl and the famous trainer from Pallet Town didn't provoke each other every single opportunity and both were constantly caring and improving their relationship. They were both really close to each other, she would often know what was going through his mind; Ash wasn't just her mentor and coach, they trusted and respected each other deeply.

No wonder why she believed their friendship was unique: with good teamwork, Ash and May advanced together.

Drew was... _Different_. A whole collection of... Strange feelings. He loved picking on her flaws and she hated to admit: some of this annoying attitude actually helped her improve and keep going on further and further. Unpredictable waves of peaceful balance and intense storm of emotions; some of their mutual understanding were built in both subtle unspoken words and exploding burning flames.

No wonder why she liked and hated him at the same time: between random moments of teamwork or rivalry, somehow Drew and May always ended up advancing together. Liking it or not.

"Alright, finished and done. Good job, May."

"Yay, thank you very much, this is awesome! It looks much less complicated now, thank youuu!" May held the reorganized card in her hands cheerfully, feeling very excited about the results. "Oh, look!... My table barely looks like yours..."

"Yeah, I picked some different stuffs to do plus I must attend some weird interviews and fan club stuff... Sorry, I am a busy man, we won't cross our paths that much, huh? Already missing me?"

"Aww, I thought we were going to spend some time together!" The girl laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "We are on vacation, aren't we?"

"Something like..." Drew crossed his arms then asked in a teasing voice. "A date?"

Date?

A date with... _Drew_?

Hearing that question and watching her rival blink in surprise, May stumbled on her words, embarrassed. "Date? Nononono! I mean... Erhm..."

"I mean..." Her heart started to beat faster and her legs started shaking. "If you got the time... You could show me the city or something... That's not a date! Right?"

"Uh, I... Well, if I got the time, I'll see what we can do... " Trying to break the ice, her rival kept going on with the conversation ignoring the awkward moment in the air. "I might be busy these days after my CW activities, you know? Hmm... But I'll find a way to babysit you so you don't get arrested..."

"_Babysit me_! Ha-ha. And what if you're booked for the whole week, Mr Superstar? Will I get in trouble for being far away from your _so-important-presence_?"

"You're _so-going-to-get-in-trouble_ walking around the city only by yourself. Well, then... Hmm, I think I can promise you something. Watch this."

The green-haired boy took the pass away from May's hand and started to scribble some stuff on it. Noticing how he was erasing the Appeals Exhibition from her list, the girl opened her mouth to protest. However, when he wrote down the serial number over the whole crossed out text, she figured out what he was trying to do.

"Wow. This..." The brunette blinked in suprise. "Just... Wow."

"Prove me you're sharp, will you? Don't let me down girl, this is going to be very... Fun."

"Are you sure?" Drew smirked, but this time restrained himself from picking on May. Watching the confused yet very excited expression on her face was... Hard to admit to himself, but it was really adorable. "Are you really sure?"

Refusing to lose his tough guy pose, he turned his face to the other window. "I was planning to show something I thought after Johto's Grand Festival but... Yeah, I guess I can try that another day. Let's present a Tag Appeal, people might find it fun. What do you think?"

"Really?" May smiled. "Because I love this idea, I really do! Thanks, Drew... I'll do my best, we gonna rock this! It will be _the _coolest Appeal opening ever!"

_Ding ding ding... Convention Square, please head to the right side..._

The chat between the two coordinators got interrupted by the female electronic train announcer voice. "Let's go, this is our stop".

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><p>AN: Hello, thank you very much for the reviews. ^^

By the way, about how it is supposed to fit in Pokemon Anime timeline... Hmm this story is supposed to happen in a couple of weeks after the end of Johto's Grand Festival. No, unfortunately neither May or Drew won it, they lost the quarter-finals against different opponents - both need to pratice more to depend less on luck and beat the more experienced coordinators, right? Hmm... Also, they should be almost fourteen by now (or not, thanks to Pokemon's twisted time logic lol) I think? Unless they are like Ash and his never-ending ten years old curse lol

Next chapter: The grand opening and some familiar faces! 8D


	3. Chapter 3: The opening

**Welcome Home ch3: The Opening**

Few minutes after leaving the train station, the two young coordinators arrived at the Convention Center, a large and stylish building not bigger than Battle Tower, but still a very tall and impressive place. A big colorful banner with the words "Contest Week" - followed by several small names of pokemon sponsors, organizations and corporations - welcomed the young kids at the crowded entrance.

Their arrival was not only received by that display sign - the entrance was fairly blocked by a concentrated mass of people and pokemon... Trainers showing off their skilled partners, curious citzens from LaRousse intrigued by the large crowd at Convention Center area, street sellers trying to attract potential buyers...

May clinged to Drew's arm, enchanted but also a bit scared of the huge loud mob of pokemon and coordinators bumping into each other. The boy just sighed and kept walking straight forward; following his steps closely, the brunette kept wondering how they would find Solidad in such huge and crowded place...

"I never knew there were so many coordinators around," the girl said in surprise, "I always thought only Pokemon trainers had massive events like this!"

They reached the main event square area after exploring the place for few minutes, checking the minimap from CW passport and getting lost at least twice inside the Convention Center. However, the duo noticed the building was not only already quite full but also getting more and more crowded.

"Drew, we will never find Solidad here..."

"Thanks for the lovely support." The boy flicked his hair, slightly annoyed. He hated to admit how lost he was feeling at that place. "I know, calm down. There must be a way..."

"Yeah but I think we should-..." May stared at the big bright screen above their head; the speakers were announcing something while the display presented some fancy Contest Tournament footage. "What's that?"

_Welcome everybody to our Contest Week, the greatest annual event for coordinators from all over the world! My name is Vivian and I am very delighted to be your hostess today! We are very honored to announce the presence of our Top Coordinator of the Year, please welcome..._

People started cheering and clapping as the teenagers stared in awe at the close-up of their elegant peached-haired friend smiling and waving to the audience in the main stage.

_Solidad from Kanto, Pewter city!_

While engulfed by a wave of clapping and whistling sounds, Vivian offered the microphone to the Top Coordinator, who gently thanked the energetic hostess with a small polite nod; she smiled to the camera, adjusting the microphone in her hands.

_Thanks, Vivian. Good evening, thank you all for coming to this great event. It's a true honor being here on stage today, I would like to thank the organization and everybody for such dedicated work and support, creating a union between coordinators from all over the continents and..._

Still in shock and unable to pay attention at all to the opening speech, the two coordinators unconsciously muttered surprised and confused words in unison. "She..."

"Is it...?"

"What..."

"Oh, Solidad really got me this time..."

"Wow..."

"She won the title of Top Coordinator of the Year?"

* * *

><p>"Hon, I am soooo proud and jealous of you! You were simply gorgeous on that stage, super radiant Sol, such a superstar! Just missed super fabulous me by your side to present the most amazing duo speech in the world! Don't you think, don't you think?"<p>

Harley clasped his hands together and jumped around Solidad, who laughed sweetly while trying to tone down his fangirlism - people were getting really scared of his loud screams and odd displays of affection. "Haha, thanks for coming and visiting me backstage! It's good to see you, shall we go to the cafeteria and grab something to drink? Like old times."

"Of course, we got lots of stuff to talk about! Oh my, time to update all juicy gossips and news, show how fantastic our pokemon are now and trade-"

_Heeeey, Solidad! Over here!_

That voice...

_Here, here! Hey, Solidad!_

That particularly super cheerful voice... Oh, _Miss Tent_!

Harley couldn't be wrong, that had to be his Miss Tent!... That unforgettable cute voice was echoing and running into their direction, shouting his friend's name in pure doses of saccharine and rainbows. The purple-haired man suddenly stopped jumping around Solidad and dashed to said target with open arms.

"Honey, come to Papa Harley!"

* * *

><p>"Solidaaaaaaaad! Soli... Whaaaa?"<p>

May stopped waving to her friend, blocked by a big purple and dark green blur who grabbed her small body with unmeasurable will and squeezed it in a tight Kangaskhan hug.

"Hnnnghh! He- hea...vy..."

_I missed you so much! Oh my Arceus, my little darlings are here!_

Collapsing on the floor, the brunette didn't have any words to say about what had just happened, why that heavy thing was on top of her and why it was pinching her cheeks like an overprotective Ursaring mother.

_Mayhoneybunnykiiins! We got so much stuff to talk about, join our great hot gossip chat! We were only missing you, sweet honey pie! _Oh my, Harley is so happy you're here!__

Green hat, purple hair... "Ha-Har...ley? Harley, is that you?"

"The only one!" Harley waved hello to the brunette and blew a kiss to the boy next to them. "Dear Drewdrew, hi! How are you, pretty boy?"

"Get out, creepy." The green-haired boy stared at the purple-haired man with a disgusted face. "Uh... May, are you alright?"

"So dramatic. She's fine, silly boy." Sitting between May and Drew and pretending to forget the whole awkward scene that had just happened between them, the Cacturne Coordinator blew another kiss to the kid, who took it with a serious blank stare.

"Really. No, thank you, Harley. You can take it back."

"I missed you too, little green darling... Not. C'mon, tyrant boy, let me have some May as well!" Hugging the girl again, Harley dramatically covered May with his arms from Drew. "Learn to wait for your time, I have time to love everybody! Learn to share your brown sugar cookie, she's not only yours!"

"Sharing cookies? What the heck are you talking ab-... Wait, what did you call me? You called me a tyrant?" The boy growled in annoyance, bothered with that comment. "A tyrant?"

Harley turned his back to Drew, giving him a 'talk to the hand' gesture. "Tyrant, stalker, bully, I don't care, whatever is your favorite poison. Go cry about your relationship issues with Solidad, gimme some prime time with May, we both got many stuff to talk about and that is only between us!"

"You, _you_ are calling me a bully and stalker? How dare you, _you_ are the one who is..."

"Drew dear, sometimes one fact doesn't exclude the viability of another fact happen... That's called logic, kid." Harley smiled in victory. "If I am mean, that doesn't mean you are a good boy either, you might be the greatest master of evil, you know? The only exception goes to beauty... _I_ am the king of beauty, therefore you are not splendid. _I_ am."

"Hey hey, can I join you three or is the debate too dangerous?" Interrupting the discussion, Solidad also sat on the floor, hugging her legs and holding her laughs. "Hi Drew, hi May! How are you guys? We were going to have some coffee, I am sure you two got lots of stories to tell us since last time we met!"

"Hi, Solidad..." May whimpered, feeling helpless, "I want to get out of this, can we have some coffee like, _right now_?"

"Hey, congratulations." Drew nodded friendly to his veteran rival but then furrowed his eyebrows in a censoring look. "By the way, how come you're Harley's old friend? Are you in debt with him or something like that?"

Solidad giggled quietly without answering Drew's question; Harley stomped his feet on the floor, very offended by that harsh question. "Are you trying to break my poor beautiful heart? She is my friend as much as you're her friend, green midget!"

May just watched the two coordinators argue with puzzled looks, completely lost in their fight; though, at the same time, it felt good... Traveling together with Drew, Harley and Solidad in Johto's Contest Circuit was an unforgettable experience, many troubles due to clashing personalities but also dozen of adventures and moments of fun.

Like a crazy and unique second family.

She smiled at her friends, happy for their complete reunion.

* * *

><p>"Drew, I am so excited! It was so good to see them again, I feel great now..."<p>

"Yeah..." The boy replied, looking up at the sky.

After an evening full of familiar faces, Drew and May decided to leave the Convention Center. The sun had already set down when they left the building; it was time to go back to home.

"Haha, that was a nice start! So many people I know... Solidad, Harley, Grace, Zoey and I think I also saw Brianna in the middle of all that people. I am glad I met so many friends today! I wonder if Dawn will be here? Zoey said she wanted to come to Hoenn after the Sinnoh league..."

"Who's Dawn? Oh, well... I didn't exactly miss Harley but I was glad to see some guys and Solidad. She really deserved that prize, I look forward battling against her in the future..."

"Dawn is Ash and Brock's friend, that one who battled me in the finals of Wallace Cup Contest, remember? Beautiful long blue hair, cute pink dress with red ribbons, very nice Piplup... And yeah, about what you've said, I hope one day we both can be the Top Coordinator of the Year too!" The brunette clenched her fists, feeling her blood burn in determination. "I want to be a legendary coordinator!"

"How cute," Drew raised an eyebrow and flicked the tip of his hair, "keep on dreaming together with Harley, you two get along very well in fantasy land..."

"Hmpf," May rolled her eyes out, "you're just jealous he got nicer with me but didn't get closer to you."

"I don't want him to get closer to me, really..."

"Not jealous?" The girl questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Not even a little bit?"

"Uh. You wish..."

"I don't know, I thought you two were friends..."

Drew looked fixedly at his rival with skeptical eyes. "Your concept of friendship needs some serious rework."

Walking back to the train station, May stopped walking and pulled Drew's jacket gently when they arrived at the station entrance. He looked at her, curious about the gesture. She scratched the back of her head, a bit nervous.

"You're busy tonight?"

The green-haired boy stared at his rival with a slightly curious look.

"Eh?... Not really, I was thinking about going back home, cook dinner and plan our strategy for next two days. I know this Exhibition is just for fun but I am taking this seriously... Why?"

"Great, it's the perfect time to talk about this." The girl smiled sheepily and her eyes sparkled. "It is about the Appeal thing! Are you too tired or can I ask you a favor, please, pretty please?"

"I'm fine and... Maybe," flicking his hair, Drew waited for an explanation - but May didn't answer anything, quietly twirling her hair with one finger, "what kind of favor?"

"Appeal rounds! We need to match each other and our pokemon. Right? Also, their appeals and attacks... And ourselves, so..."

"So...?"

"So! _You know_... Yeah, _that_..."

"Eh, _that what_?" Drew answered in a puzzled tone. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Aww, _you know_, c'mon... Hmm, you got that stylish black tuxedo and I've got my cute Oasis Princess set, right? They're great costumes, awesome design and style but they don't really match, so... I thought... Maybe... You know..."

Now he knew exactly what she wanted with those weird comments.

"First of all, I refuse to wear any silly Medichan stuff to match you. Second thing, for this exhibition you should worry more about your pokemon, not your own clothing. Third and last, no, I will not carry your shopping-spree fever bags if that's what you're planning to do right now..."

"Pleeease, I promise it will be fast! I am short on money anyway, you won't need to carry a single bag for me, I promise!" Making her best sad puppy face, May clinged to Drew's arm. "Make the PokeMagazine of next month feature you in the fashion pages as the man with the best matching partner!"

The green-haired boy felt a sweat drop appear on his head, speechless.

"Help me choose the perfect dress for the Appeals with your perfect taste in beauty? Show me how cool is the shopping mall? Uh, I don't know, make a girl happy?"

"You only make my life more difficult, don't you?" The rival just muttered something along the lines '_women, so weird_' and changed his track, heading to another automatic street. "Follow me. You owe me this one..."

May's eye sparkled in ecstasy. A very happy victory scream echoed through the buildings of LaRousse city.

_YESSSSSS!_

* * *

><p>AN: OMG Thank you very very much for the feedback! I never imagined I would get more than 5 reviews xD... I feel _so_ honored!

Yeah now that you guys noticed me, I see I messed up Harley's quote (it's been a long time since I watched that episode, sorry!) lol I'll edit that soon. By the way, I know it's not really allowed to keep editing the story after publishing it but I feel it's my obligation to correct these mistakes D: Don't worry, I won't change the plot, it's just some text tweaking ;_; Oh, and my native language is Portuguese! Yeah... Weird, I know. lol

About the plot: I always wondered how Solidad became Harley's friend off-screen before AG series and why these two and Drew were watching, in the same room and apparently together, May compete in Wallace's Contest... I suppose at some point in Johto's journey Harley and May worked on their past issues and fixed (at least a little bit) their relationship? Harley seems to love-hate May so badly! In any scenario I still think Drew wouldn't trust him or approve the fact the two girls like the Cacturne man lol

Next chapter: Just some shopping in LaRousse... Or something more?


	4. Chapter 4: The red dress

**Welcome Home ch4: The Red Dress**

Drew spotted the clumsy brunette at the fountain main square after a whole hour walking around the shopping area. He saw no traces of any bags in her hands; surprisingly, that wasn't a good sign. "What's wrong?"

"Awwn... I couldn't find _anything_! You know, I don't mind paying more for something that is good..." The girl waved her arms frantically. "But those clothes are so expensive! I don't have that much money to spend, that totally crushed my desire to buy a new dress."

The green-haired coordinator stared at his rival, impressed. He was in shock. "That much time and you tell me now you weren't _inspired_ for shopping? You're kidding me, right?"

"Hey, I'm not kidding!" May pouted. "It's serious business, alright?"

"Wow. Female drama, complex and fascinating, yet so... Bizarre."

May sighed after looking at Drew's hands, both occupied by large and full bags. "You're so lucky, you bought so many stuff to wear, girl clothing is so expensive... Being a boy is oh-so-much easier!"

"You mean... This?" Chuckling a bit, he opened one of the bags to the brunette. "_Kinky,_ but I won't wear food for your own pleasure. Sorry, that is not really my taste."

The girl stared at the eggs, cans and grocery stuff, speechless. She mumbled some unrecognizable words and felt her face blush; angry with such irritating comment and completely embarrassed for letting herself imagine Prince Drew of Larousse Kingdom sitting in a throne of cans, covered in a lettuce kilt and a crown of grapes.

It was _oddly_ charming...

"What? Dreeeeeeew!"

"I'm just kidding..." The arrogant kid smirked, enjoying his rival's misery. " Anyway, I told you so! No cheap stuff in LaRousse. If you really want a different dress for our show, try a renting store. Maybe that will do for you?"

"Renting... Store?" She tilted her head to the side, thoughtfully. "You mean, getting a dress temporarily only for this week?"

"Yeah, that should be cheaper than buying a brand new dress. Hello, common sense?"

May kept thinking about it for some seconds then clasped her hands in thrill, eyes sparkling in excitement. "Hey... I think that's not a bad idea! Show me the way, let's pay a quick visit to this place!"

* * *

><p><em>Zzzzz...<br>_  
>Drew yawned sleepily, feeling numb and tired - body sloppily dead on the sofa.<p>

Another hour gone in that boring girly mission... He should have kept his mouth shut instead of suggesting that stupid idea.

"Are you going to finish it today?" The boy yawned again and groaned in an annoyed tone, trying to not fall asleep. "How long are you going to take to pick up _one single dress_?"

_Why did he bother helping?_

"Do you think this one will look better or... This one?" May held one attire in each hand, displaying them to Drew. "I don't know which one I like the most..."

Without looking at his rival and ignoring her question, the green-haired coordinator answered in a bored voice. "Eh, prove them and see what you think, Slowpoke? I just want to go home..."

"Oh, perhaps... Hmm. Yeah, that's what I'll do! Great idea, I like that!"

"Rookie in Contests, rookie in real life," Drew muttered to himself then sighed in defeat. "Well... That's May, right?"

_Why did he bother helping..._

"Okay, wait a minute then tell me what you think. Yay, it's fashion time!"

_Why did he bother-_

Suddenly, inner obscure thoughts flashed some dream images of his rival wearing tons of different costumes, from delicate dresses to spunky outfits: he could easily imagine her picking those clothes to her personal wardrobe. May was a quite cute girl, wasn't she? Sometimes a little bit tomboyish when hungry or angry but always feminine. Strong, never the damsel in distress - but still always feminine. Certainly a deadly combination, no wonder why so many guys were so attracted to her...

"Ergh..." Drew mentally smacked himself, waking up from fantasy land. Why was he thinking about_ that_? He had no reason to dream about May's crazy shopping time, looks or nature.

_Imagine May, one of the greatest Coordinators from the new generation - our Princess of Hoenn, bouncing in a delicate colorful dress under the strong stage spotlight. She releases her refined and highly obedient Glaceon, smiling and giggling gracefully to the public and all the fans watching her live on TV... Winning the audience's attention with a beautiful Appeal combining Blizzard attack and Ice Beam, the girl confidently bows to the camera. After an enthusiastic standing ovation and perfect scores from the judges, she looks at Drew and winks playfully, blowing a sweet kiss. "Hey, Drew! I..."  
><em>

He smacked himself again. _What the heck was that, another delirium?_

"Aww, this one is so fluffy! Hey, Drew! I think I've got it, what do you think?"

May clumsily walked out the closet wearing an odd big pink dress, full of frilly details and a big white bow on her shoulder and on her head. Drew felt a sweat drop hanging on the back of his head. That was exactly the opposite of what he was dreaming about...

"What is it?..."

"It reminds me of a beautiful dress I wore once travelling with Ash! Isn't that adorable? Looks like I'm in a fairytale, wheeee!"

It didn't look at all like Cameran Palace's dress; "tacky" (or maybe "distasteful") was the closest word he found to describe it. May's innocent comment only helped Drew (wrongly) deduce one thing...

_Max and her friends have absolutely no style! How could they let her wear something that weird? _

"I- I don't know, something doesn't look right..." The brunette started to spin, making the layers of the dress float in a large round shape. She giggled cutely and he bit his lower lip, troubled by such terrifying image. Drew whispered in a pathetic voice. "May used Dream Eater! It's super effective..."

"Hm? What do you mean? You don't like it?" May forced a sad puppy face but that only made Drew get more disturbed.

"Eh, I don't know why I am being so subtle... Ok, listen. This thing looks silly. It's like a wedding cake..." May tripped on the floor after hearing that, almost falling on her face but the dress managed to hold her body up. "Now it looks like a pink ball. An inflated Jigglypuff. A Chansey using Headbutt... See? You can barely move with that awful dress. I won't carry you into the stage..."

"You didn't like it, I've got it..."

"It makes you look fat."

"..."

And then the world froze for a millisecond.

The green-haired boy chuckled, trying to hold his laughter. "Don't be sad, I think a hungry Munchlax would love to taste you with some strawberries and cream..."

Deadly silence. "Ohh, Critical hit? You don't like being called chubby, huh?"

"Drew..."

"Hey, I am not saying you're fat... Just saying you look pretty big in this..."

"Shut up!" She didn't hear the whole sentence, locking herself in the closet in an angry slam before Drew could finish talking.

* * *

><p>May didn't leave the cabinet to avoid another storm of crude comments, trying and judging the dresses just by herself. The coordinator didn't want to make Drew even more annoyed - however, being truly honest, nothing really fit or interested her enough to feel <em>"hey, that's THE dress"<em>. Most clothes looked nice inside the display screen - but none worked out very good in her body. She tried the last one and crossed her arms, contemplatively. "Hmm..."

It was a lacy white and blue dress, cute and not very exquisite. Quite simple, just perfect for the situation: it was so plain that Drew probably wouldn't bother her with any mean critiques.

"This one looks good." Wearing that dress, the girl reminded of Alice in Wonderland - yet grinning with such angry face, all the innocence from the costume was lost as she emanated a quiet psycho killer aura around her head. "Now I just need a knife to stab that smug face..."

Holding the dress in her arms and wearing her regular green and orange clothes, the coordinator opened the door and noticed Drew wasn't anymore melting on the sofa; she could only spot an old woman waiting for her next to the cash register - did he leave the store? "Drew?... Are you there?"

The grannie smiled and pointed a finger at the entrance. May quickly followed the directions and found the teen next to the window displays, looking fixedly at something. The boy was distracted by a certain display - she silently came closer to him and got surprised how he didn't notice her presence. Giggling, she asked in a curious tone, "What is that?"

"...M-May?" Drew didn't expect being caught off-guard. Trying to move away, he pointed discreetly to the cashier. "You're done, finally. Let's go, that lady's been waiting you for hours and..."

"Wait." Stopping Drew by putting her hand over his shoulder, May didn't want to take her eyes out of said display. "Wow..."

Her rival moved his gaze away from the dress and started looking at the next wall, feeling a bit uncomfortable. May was enchanted but also somewhat surprised: it was the straight opposite of all dresses she picked up; a long strapless red wine colored dress, completed by a generous high-cut that revealed one of the legs fairly well. It was very mature compared to all her sweet and cute choices.

It was different... But also beautiful.

"It's pretty." May stated boldly. "Uh, were you thinking about me when..."

"I was just trying to distract myself while you were playing fashion show with yourself... Don't assume stuff." Drew bit his tongue, unsatisfied with his own weak answer. He decided to not go further on that discussion, flicking his hair and trying to show indifference. "Can we go home now?"

"I... Wow, I don't know. I can give it a try, maybe?" Looking at Drew staring the wall, she blushed. What a weird situation... Her face was burning furiously. "Uh, I mean, only if you really like that. So, what do you think?"

"Eh... I really don't mind anymore if you want to be a wedding cake or a cinnamon roll, I just want to leave this store for once... It's already dark outside."

May watched her reflection merge with the costume on the other side of the screen. "Hmm... Yeah, you're right, we should go back to your house, it's late. Besides..."

"Besides?"

Muttering in a low sighing voice, the girl looked at her own reflection with sad eyes. "I don't think I would fit on that anyway, I'm not that good, you know? It's so beautiful, so sexy, I don't think I can meet the expectations with that-"

"You're kidding, right?"

"Huh?"

May saw Drew turning his gaze back to the display through the glass reflection. He looked back at the dress in front of them with a serious face, cheeks slightly blushing.

"A pair of high heels... A rose themed jewelry... Hairclips instead of your bandanna... Maybe only a light make-up and you won't need anything else? I can get a fedora hat and a small bouquet of red roses to match this. I can see it from here we would look great."

The girl tilted her head in doubt, thoughtful. "Yeah it would be very classy but I am not sure if I-"

"Yes, you would definitely look hot."

_...Hot? Really?_

"Oh? Ahahaha..." May felt her face get redder than the dress. She looked back to Drew, speechless, trying to change the subject and talk about anything else. "I- I'll be right back."

After a couple of awkward seconds, the girl moved to the cashier in timid steps, dissolving the tension between the two coordinators. Whispering to the old lady, she pointed at the store entrance with a slightly shaken voice. The woman smiled, calming down the embarrassed brunette.

"Sure, sweetie. One second."

May sat on the sofa full of anxiety as the old lady walked to the window display carrying a key in her hand. While unlocking the screen, she discreetly winked to Drew. The boy smirked, shrugging his shoulders.

"She didn't want to hear my critiques but I couldn't resist it."

"At least this time it was a generous praise... Wise choice, my young man. That's the way to win a girl's heart."

The green-haired teen got caught by that comment, feeling a tiny clock tick louder inside his chest. Unsure how to answer that, he just flicked his hair and gave the most generic but honest answer he could think at that moment.

"I know it, right?..."

* * *

><p>The two coordinators barely exchanged words in their way back to home. Feeling tired after such long day walking around the Convention Center and the shopping square, they only talked a bit about their coffee time with Harley and Solidad and discussed some ideas for the Appeal Exhibition.<p>

May was so exhausted that, at one point of the train trip back to Drew's house, she quietly fell asleep on her seat. At the final station, Drew casted a pokeball and called Flygon out. He gently placed her body in its back, hugging his partner; at first he got worried about waking her up, but loud snores confirmed it was all fine.

"Aren't you a heavy sleeper, huh?" The Pokemon and its master laughed quietly.

May didn't hear anything since she was too busy dreaming about flying in the sky under the reflection of the silver moon, touching the sea with her fingertips and following a Luvdisc march.

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you very much for the reviews and critiques, I really appreciate them. Yes, they do make me smile! Also, I wish Happy Holidays for you all, thanks for reading and reviewing it :)

About the plot: Fandom portraits May as a quite... Sexy girl. Tbh I find it quite weird and funny because - hey, she's only ten in Advance Generation series! xD However, when I think about older May... Yeah, she will definitely get prettier and way more attractive than she is aware of. (Well, her body in younger days was quite... curvy, it might follow the developmemt in the future I guess LOL).

Drew may care a lot about beauty and fashion but I think even he couldn't stand May's girly and hesitant shopping time lol. Also about him, I think Drew unconsciously got attracted to a red dress because he associate red roses with May (and, of course, because it probably would make her look sexy and that's eye candy lol). He gave her a serious and quite blunt answer not to embarrass her - it didn't mean to be a rude comment but something to give May that confidence boost she lacks so much sometimes... Funny enough, he said it more as a "friend suggestion" than a "guy opinion". xD

Next chapter: Another familiar face... Another rival? Coming really soon as a Christmas/New Year's gift for your feedback~


	5. Chapter 5: The other rival

**Welcome Home ch5: The other rival**

"Good morning, sunshiiiiiiine!"

May woke up in a good mood, happily opening her arms to the warm sunlight that also touched the long curtains in front of her. Hearing the sound of Wingull and Taillow chirping by the other side of the window, she yawned in a lazy way and stretched her arms above her head. Lost in her thoughts, the girl kept watching the sunny scenario until she noticed something strange going on.

Alright, she was in a very comfortable and large bed... But where_ exactly_ was she?

"Drew, where are we? Drew..."

No answer.

"Drew? Are you there?"

No answer.

The coordinator held the sheets in a strong grip. She could vaguely remember falling asleep in the train after buying her costume for the Appeal Exhibition but nothing else after that. Was that Drew's home? Maybe... May hadn't seen the rooms upstairs when they arrived at his place, was that his bedroom?

Spotting her red bag next to a closed door, she sighed in relief. Yes, this had to be his house.

The room was tidy, clean and pretty like the living room and the kitchen on the first floor. One big large bed, a wooden desk and a chair, few more furnitures. She smiled when finally spotted some of Drew's personal possessions; two Budew portraits on the shelf next to a couple of books about Pokemon and a locked ribbon case.

"That must be Roserade in her baby days," she cooed softy. "How sweet..."

May was mildly tempted to investigate everything about Drew's personal life... But the coordinator girl felt a little bit guilty for being nosy - she stopped exploring the room and decided to find her rival downstairs. Looking at herself in the mirror, May noticed she was still wearing her orange and green Johto outfit since past morning. The girl changed to her red clothing and tied her hair with the classic red bandanna - she was now ready to start the day.

May saw two doors in the bedroom and tried to open the one from her left; however, it was locked. _What was that room?_

She opened the other one and saw a corridor - an entrance to a small bathroom and the stairs. The brunette went down to the first floor and giggled in amusement when she noticed Drew was sleeping on the sofa under a light blanket, hugging a pillow. He was wearing plain blue pajamas and his shiny green hair was totally messed up. The brunette pictured in her head the awake proud devil flicking his green hair and then contemplated the angelic sleeping kid snoring quietly in front of her - no smug face, harsh criticism storm or endless taunts, only an innocent Drew resting in peace. "Oh, the irony... Now you look _cute and harmless_ like a Skitty, huh."

"Hmm..." The coordinator at first felt reluctant to get closer to the sleeping boy; still, her hands felt an urge to do something she always wanted to try but never had the courage to ask for. "He won't notice it, right?_" _

She sat next to Drew and gently touched his head, caressing his hair with her fingertips. It was exactly how she imagined, very soft and delicate like silk. Humming a song, the brunette felt the joys of petting a perfectly groomed hair - no wonder why his fangirls desired it so much (especially Harley). After few seconds, Drew suddenly started moving, making May freeze in apprehension. However, the boy didn't wake up - he just reacted to her touch by muttering some nonsense mumbling, looking pleased. She sighed in relief...

And smiled to herself.

* * *

><p><em>What the...<em>

Drew woke up and immediately noticed two very strange situations. First of all, his body really hurt like if it was stomped all night long by a dancing Snorlax. He could feel all his bones cracking and clicking - that sofa was an awful bed substitute. Next time, he would definitely remember to grab an extra mattress or just sleep on the floor.

The second thing out of place was a faint smoke coming from inside the kitchen. It didn't smell like burnt food or anything dangerous at all - it had a remotely sweet scent but that was so incredibly odd he couldn't guess what that could be. Was it something edible or...

"Good morning, Drew! Did you sleep well?"

May happily welcomed her rival with a smile, hands busy holding two empty plates. She was wearing her old Hoenn clothes and his black apron.

"What is going on here..."

"Oh, that?" The brunette pointed at the table, ignoring the subtle mysterious smoke in the air. "That's our breakfast, I call it _May's surprise_! It's almost done and don't worry, I'll clean all the mess before we leave the house. By the way, I made some great purple surprises for our Pokemon! They're enjoying it out there, isn't that cute?"

She pointed at the window, feeling proud of her Pokeblock skills. The green-haired boy didn't need more than a quick glance to see everybody but Munchlax staring at the food with disdain looks. The pokemon were uneasy and tense, poking the blocks with caution. Only Snorlax's pre-evolution seemed to be happy with the purple suprises...

"_How lovely_." Drew sighed at how oblivious his rival was about the fear in their Pokemon's eyes. "I wonder if they really deserve that much."

"Aw, Drew!" Not noticing his sarcasm tone, May's eye got brighter. "That's nothing, you're more than welcome! It's a pleasure to make our Pokemon feel good!"

"Uh..." The green-haired coordinator felt a huge sweat drop fall down behind his temple. "Be right back, please just don't... Look, try to not destroy my kitchen."

May crossed her arms troubled by such concerned order and Drew went back to his room. He changed his clothes to his usual attire; instead of long sleeves, he picked up a plain black t-shirt to wear under his purple jacket. Sitting on his bed and looking in the mirror, he combed his hair in a couple of seconds with skill and dexterity. Final touch: _cool hair flick; _perfect hair done. Now, the CW duties...

Checking his schedule, Drew read all the tasks he had that evening; the boy was really looking forward to watching the debate between Top Coordinators from all continents - but not that much excited about giving an interview to his weird fan club...

"Sigh, this is going to be a long day..." Drew lay down on his bed and closed his eyes - that was much more comfortable than the sofa...

He feared the fan club questions would (once again) have nothing to do with Contests or his work as a coordinator - why those girls (and not so young ladies) were so interested about his Zodiac sign, blood type and favorite dessert? Truthfully, he knew he didn't exactly have the rights to complain about being pampered and admired by so many women - although sometimes they surely did manage to be strange and scary... Actually, "sometimes" was a bad euphemism to describe it - "most of the time" was a much fairer statement.

After few minutes resting his mind, the boy opened his eyes again and saw a weird and thick pink cloud forming over his head.

_Wait, pink smoke?_

"MAY!"

* * *

><p>"Explain yourself..."<p>

Beautifly and Butterfree tried to cast Whirlwind inside the kitchen while May and Drew sat in the front door of the house, coughing colorful smoke out of their lungs. The brunette had the black apron all stained in pink splashes and the frying pan was full of sticky unedible cream. The boy didn't like to see his house invaded by pink stuff neither see his favorite apron covered by dirty - but he did feel a lot happier and less worried after noticing the cooking failure destroyed any possibility of him being forced down to eat that gooey blob.

"You want some explanation? Okay... Ugh, _I suck_. Is that a valid answer?" Slapping her forehead in shame, May quietly replied her rival with an awkward smile. "I tried to cook like Brock but I ended up making a mess like Ash, I'm sorry. I was trying to make up for yesterday when I felt asleep in the train but something went wrong with my recipe..."

"Oh?" Drew lowered his voice, slightly surprised. The thought that May had some memories about past day poked some of his feelings. He brushed them off with a shrug. "Eh, that was nothing. Thank Flygon for that... And don't worry about cooking, I will do it next time."

"Really?" His rival's eye got all lively and sparky again. "I never saw you cooking in Hoenn, Kanto or Johto! Are you a master in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, of course I am good at cooking." The green-haired boy smirked. "Ask Roserade, she likes watching me preparing food."

"Wow, that's really awesome!" Sapphire eyes grew wider, deeply interested in Drew's words. "So... You're not angry about what happened?"

"Angry? Nah, I am just being cautious. Saving us from your awful cooking, you know?... Don't you want to survive as well?"

May's eye quickly shifted from _cute impressed Jigglypuff_ mode to_ furious and raging Zangoose_ mode. Before she had the opportunity to hit Drew's head, someone not so far away from them interrupted the discussion.

__Oh my Arceus!_ Is that you?_

* * *

><p>Coming from the pier few steps away from the house, a large and tall boy stared in surprise and disbelief at both coordinators. Drew raised an eyebrown, unsure of what was that person doing by waving a finger at him. However, something hinted that maybe he wasn't the subject in question - because May's facial expression was as much funny and intense as the strange guy in front of them.<p>

"Oh, May! I can't believe it's you... Remember me?"

"Wow." The girl whispered, still shocked. "...Sid?"

"You're back to LaRousse, is it a dream?" Running in her direction, Sid threw away the fishing rod he was holding in his arms and glomped the coordinator girl in a very tigh Wigglytuff hug (_Déjà vu feelings?_). Drew just dodged the weird youngster by stepping away. "You even remembered my name, hahaha! How are you, missy?"

"Hahaha... Ha." Trying to free herself, she quickly moved her body in weird positions. It didn't work well since his grip only got stronger this way. "Hggg... What are you doing here in LaRousse? Aren't you from South city?"

"Back to the Battle Tower, of course! This city is great for Pokemon Trainers. I was fishing nearby and saw a big smoke over the land few minutes ago... I was going to help with Blastoise but I guess it was a false alarm. And what a divine signal! Wow, I still can't believe that. It must be our fate! Babe you look great, gorgeous as always!"

"Thank you!" In a not very pleased smile, she quickly glanced over Drew and groaned. "_Help me?_..."

The green-haired coordinator smiled mischievously. May didn't like the malicious grin on his face, but trying to pretend everything was okay, she continued.

"Drew, this is my friend Sid. Sid, this is Drew. My rival."

"A rival?" The round kid loosened his grip, making room for May to escape and breath properly. "Nice to meet you, Drew! May is fantastic, isn't she?"

"Fantastic?" Drew pointed at the vestiges of pink smoke behind his back. "She is truly fantastic at exploding houses. Never let her enter your kitchen."

"Wooah, hahaha! She did _that_ to your house?" Sid laughed. "How fiery, that's so vengeful!"

Smiling in a very polite way, the green-haired coordinator flicked his hair. "I think I should go, I don't want to ruin such touching moment... You guys probably got lots of stuff to talk about and May loves talking nonstop, this is going to be a good meeting between two _good old friends_, right?"

"Arrrrgh, you!" The girl felt a vein popping out her head and whispered angrily at Drew. "Can't you help me at least once?"

"As you wish..." Turning his back to the two of them, the snarky rival commented in an oddly happy tone. "By the way, don't worry May. Feel free to go out in on date with your fan, I will fix all the mess in the kitchen..."

"Drew! What are you-"

The brunnete's hiss was quickly interrupted by some very awkward comment. "... And also, all that wild mess you've left in my room. Really, it's no big news you're so tired today, I know you wanted more, we had some fun yesterday, it was a lovely night but... I guess you need to be more careful and stop using all your energy, don't you think? I know you want to compete with me but... Anyway, we talk about this later!"

"What?" May and Sid shouted in surprise, the first one in disgust and the second one in disbelief. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"Drew, you're_ not_ helping!" The girl agrily blushed in crimson colors. "What... _What the heck _did you say?"

Drew watched the two kids burst in despair with a fake surprised look. "Hmm? What's wrong? Did I say anything I shouldn't? Oh, forgive me May, I didn't know you were that shy to admit you've slept-"

May grabbed Drew's shoulder, face redder than her bandanna. "...I'm going to kill y-"

"Nooooooo!" Sid fell on his knees, holding his head in despair. "First, Ash Ketchum! Now, Drew! What can I do to win my muse's golden heart?"

The girl opened her mouth ready to reply the desperate cry but once again she got interrupted, this time by Sid's pleading hands. "I know! Let's go to _Pink Sea_, I know Luvdiscs will cherish our moment, babe! You will like it, this will be fun!"

"Ehh... Don't pay attention to Drew, he is just twisting some stories to annoy me! Ignore his stupid _blahblahblah_." Giving the green-haired coordinator a subtle and quick death glare, May just changed her focus to Sid and tried to give him the best sympathetic smile she could do. "Let's do this, give me your number and I promise I'll call you later. Then we can meet later and do something nice? The CW is really important to me... Sorry, I need to go soon."

"Oh, you two are here for that big event for Coordinators? Sweet. That's nice, May... I understand, really! It's okay, don't worry. But first..." Turning his face to the other boy, Sid dramatically pointed a challenging finger at him. "Drew! We must battle for May's heart! Ash couldn't resist my strength in the Battle Tower, I want to see your skills! Battle me!"

"Rose?"

Drew saw Roserade coming closer to him with a deadly stare, ready to fight; however, he denied the help by patting gently on its head.

"No, not this time, Roserade. Well... Sid, I've got a serious Appeal Exhibition in the next three days. I'm sorry to disappoint you but my Pokemon need some concentration and rest."

"Rosee..."

The flower pokemon frowned, slightly disappointed. Roserade protested poking his leg - but the green-haired coordinator didn't change his mind. "I told you, not this time... Roserade, concentrate on your training."

"Ohh, already defeated?" Laughing in a friendly mood, Sid taunted Drew with his Pokeball. "That was too fast! You gonna lose babe's heart if you don't accept my challenge, you know?"

May pouted. "Sid, Drew is not my boyfriend, okay? He's just my rival, really. I am sorry, I told you before but... Listen, I'm not interested in you as a love interest, I just want to be friends, alright?"

Drew raised an eyebrow. _Just a rival?_ "You see, Airhead got a point. Besides, I don't want to waste my time just to claim something... Like her. Need to be really desperate to want to claim her, don't you think?"

"Hey!" The girl shouted back to the mocking boy, feeling a bit offended. "What did you say?"

Sid watched in confusion the two coordinators share tension sparkles with intense fierceness. Did they always argue like that? "Okay, it's a promise then. I shall battle against you someday, Mr Rival. It will be an exciting battle!"

"Whatever..." Flicking his hair with an arrogant nod, Drew entered the house, cleared from smoke now. "Tsc, weird people."

Drew coldly left the two of them alone. May and Sid felt like being slapped on face, slightly hurt by his words.

"Your rival sure can't take a joke, huh? What a sinister dude..."

"Don't tell me..." May sighed, feeling tense and stressed.

* * *

><p>The two coordinators didn't talk to each other after the encounter with Sid; Drew spent the train trip reading a book and May this time had the opportunity to watch the landscape peacefully without being interrupted.<p>

The workshop day in CW was really fun; May felt truly agitated and curious to learn different techniques and strategies. So many impressive new tactics and knowledge, a couple of very hard methods to practice but also few easy and incredibly useful tricks to use in her daily training.

It was an amazing day. The girl smiled, thinking about all the knowledge she gathered in her journey around Kanto, Johto and Hoenn - priceless but still very scarce if compared to many other Coordinators. May knew that awareness could make her feel down in blue moments - however, that day, she couldn't feel more motivated and happy with that feeling. The brunette could sense her blood burn in conviction and excitement, ready to do everything to beat Drew again and be the Best Top Coordinator of all times.

That was only the beginning of the Princess of Hoenn's route to glory and fame!

May was still a bit angry about his annoying comments earlier in the morning, but after her activities were over, she tried looking for Drew inside the Convention Center. The girl managed to hear some people saying his name and some fans holding pictures of him around the corridors - however, she didn't spot a single trace of green hair anywhere.

Spinning a bag full of small _souvenir_ and eating a big and tasty sandwich, the coordinator returned home just before the end of sunset - she was lucky enough to get a small glimpse of its wonderful view. May took off her shoes and went to the kitchen finish her meal. It was getting darker and that worried her a bit; she tried to check Drew's status in the PokeNav but he was already disconnected - his profile only displayed the message "I'm off for today, please call me tomorrow".

Sitting in the sofa, the young girl decided to wait for her rival. May tried to watch TV but got bored easily; she also gave up lying down on the sofa after hearing her ribs cringe in pain._ What an uncomfortable thing..._

"Hmm, where's Drew?..."

* * *

><p>AN: Hi guys! How are you? Hope you all had a great Christmas :)

Once again, thank you very much for the lovely feedback. They really encourage me to keep writing with dedication and updating as fast as I can~ xD I am not kidding, I thought I would be at Chapter 2 or 3 ten days after the first chapter being uploaded... We've reached Chapter 5 already lol

I was out of the town for a few days, so I didn't update anything last week - Apologize me for that ~ ^^; Also, I want to wish you all a belated Happy New Year xD I hope 2012 will be a great year!

About the plot: She does love eating but somehow I've got a feeling May is a total mess in the kitchen... /Cooking pokeblocks feelings xD

For those who cannot remember, Sid is that chubby kid from Destiny Deoxy movie (_bulbapedia(dot)bulbagarden(dot)net/wiki/Sid)_. He fancies May a lot although the opposite... Uh, guess lol.

What is the next chapter about? What happened to Drew? The answer is... Quite obvious, lol. And here comes another awkward discussion... This one is quite the first kick to the incoming snowball P:

See you soon!


	6. Chapter 6: The bed

**Welcome Home ch6: The bed**

May yawned as she went upstairs and opened the bedroom's door. The lights were off and only the moonlight was lighting up the room; the only sound that could be heard came from nocturnal Pokemon outside the house.

She was about to change her clothes when some weird shadow moved inside the room.

"Ahhh!_!_!"

Shutting her arms tightly around her chest, May shouted in disbelief at the drowsy figure lying on the bed. Drew woke up feeling heavy and tired, trying to figure out what was going on.

"...Why did you wake me up-"

"Wait, you were here _all the time_?"

"Yes?" The boy scratched his eyes, trying to see his shocked rival freak out in front of him. "And? Tonight I deserve a premium rest more than anyone. Try dealing with fangirls, they are more dangerous than bumping into a hungry Swalot troop... You would never understand it."

"_Never understand it_! Hmpf, you say it as if I were a mere commoner..." The brunette girl copied Drew's famous hair flick signature move, trying to mime his arrogant pose. "How inelegant, did you forget I am the famous Princess of Hoenn?"

"No, you have no idea what fangirls can do... Besides, being a Princess doesn't mean anything at all when you are always ranks below than _Queen _of Kanto Solidad, you know? Also, I think you know that nicknames don't make you more important or elegant... _Miss Tent_, anyone?"

Drew shrugged and stifled a mocking laugh, making May growl in embarrassment. "Hey!... Uh, what about what you saw today in the morning? I do have my personal stalkers! See, I know how does it feels to be squeezed by-"

"A desperate young man looking for anything that resembles a female human being? Nah, that's not a valid example... I bet that guy could fall in love with a Gardevoir just because of its looks. Anyway... Well, you've said it yourself in the morning, I'm just your rival so it's no surprise I'll compete against you. So if excuse me, I'm claiming back some space in my bed..."

"...Did my comment hurt y-" May got caught for an instant by the "just your rival" comment - but when Drew covered himself again under the sheets, ignoring her words, she quickly snapped and erased any remorse from her mind."Hey! Don't pretend you're not listening!"

She angrily poked her rival with a shoeless feet but the boy pretended to be sleeping. She growled again, then grabbed some stuffs from her red bag and stormed out of the bedroom. Hearing a faint sound of shower coming from the bathroom, the boy decided to not worry about it and go back to dream world.

However, few minutes later, he was suddenly attacked by May wearing cute pink Skitty pajamas.

"What the..?"

"You shouldn't be lying down with spread arms and legs, that takes the whole bed! Where am I supposed to sleep?" The brunette crossed her arms, waiting for an answer. Drew mumbled something that sounded remotely like 'the sofa', making May snap. "No way! That is a torture chamber disguised as a sofa! I can't sleep there!"

"Then shut up and sleep here... Just don't bother me." The boy dragged himself to the right corner of the bed. "I'm really tired."

_Really, it's no big news you're so tired today, I know you wanted more, we had some fun yesterday, it was a lovely night but... I guess you need to be more careful and stop using all your energy, don't you think? I know you want to compete with me but..._

May knew Drew's words earlier in the morning were only meant to annoy her - that had nothing to do with the her current situation in his bedroom. But now that same line sounded so... "W-Wait! I can't sleep in your bed! Isn't it... You know, _strange_?"

The green-haired teenager raised an eyebrow, unsure how to reply to that question. He stared at her eyes with an incredulous look...

Then he threw a pillow on her face.

Knocked out by the unpredictable attack, May rubbed her nose and held the pillow in her arms. "Ouch! Why did you do that?_!_"

"...That comment totally asked for a stupid answer. You can't sleep in my bed, really? You've already done that yesterday."

"Ow." May didn't know how to respond to that. She sat on the edge of the bed, hugging the fluffy pillow and avoiding looking directly at Drew. "No! I mean, yes, I know I did but... Uh, you're a boy and I am a girl? I can't share it with you without that being weird... Mom said I can't do it without asking her, Max said it's dangerous when they're not siblings and wow, I don't want to imagine what Dad would say. Ouch, Dad... He would simply-"

"How old are you?" Drew tapped his forehead in annoyance when she suddenly brought her whole family into their discussion. "Okay, so you want to call your mother and ask if she can sleep here with us?"

"Of course not!" May blushed. She tried to fit herself on the bed, lying down opposite ways to Drew. Her body was aching in awkwardness. Why couldn't he understand that was an uncomfortable situation? "Okay. So this is my half-bed, don't cross this side and don't get too close to me, 'right? I'll scream if you try to touch me."

"Why would I touch you... " The boy growled, slightly perturbed. "Wait, why would I want to do that?"

"Dunno..." The brunette pondered, trying to find the right words to describe her thoughts. "How can I explain it... You're _so different_ from the boys I know."

"Me,_ different_?" Drew sighed, feeling a bit sour and offended. "Well, you don't openly complain when your chubby admirer, Harley or Ash Ketchum glomp you. Eh, that's so logical. Who do you think I am, some perverted guy who doesn't respect your personal space?"

"O... No, it's not that! I-"

"Why did you want to stay in my house then?"

Words hit May like bullets, surprising and catching her off-guard. "I..."

The girl was speechless.

"So?"

She opened her mouth to say something but then curled up in a ball feeling quite ashamed of herself and rolled out of the bed to the floor. "Never mind, Drew... I am just being stupid."

"Yes, you are."

Drew was tired. Although he had just won an argument against May, this time it didn't feel good - something was really wrong. He loved winning their arguments with witty and skeptical comments, but this time...

Maybe he took her scared reaction too seriously... And perhaps his own reaction to that was unnecessary. Was she just overreacting or were his words too harsh? The green-haired teenager sat on his bed and sighed once again, scratching the back of his head, thoughtfully. He bit his lower lip and poked her back.

"May... C'mon, stop it. We need to talk." She weakly moved her feet, trying to warm them. He poked her once again. "Don't pretend you're sleeping... Hey, I know you are listening to me."

"I am sleeping."

The boy didn't seem to be impressed with May's awful acting skills. "Yeah, you obviously are... But listen to me anyway."

May didn't emit a single sound but her rival kept talking, quite sure she was paying attention to his words. "Hey, don't take what I've said too seriously. I'm tired, I just want to rest and you are driving me crazy as usual."

The girl didn't move an inch.

"May, you don't need to answer that. Look, forget it... Of course I won't kick you out of my house, I promised you I wouldn't. Besides, if I didn't want you here I wouldn't have invited y-"

"I think... It's because I wanted us to get closer."

Drew sensed a jolt of energy sparkle inside his head. Something poked some of his unspoken feelings.

Did he hear that right?

"Closer?"

"You know, Ash always says how it is good to have a nice relationship with the people you battle against," the girl muttered without looking at her rival. Then she added with a slightly wishful tone, "it's great to get closer to other trainers and coordinators even if they are your rivals... I don't know, I thought it would be easier, we traveled together for a whole continent but still..."

"Ash..."

"...Maybe I am not ready for this yet? I don't know, I feel out of my comfort zone talking to you sometimes and..." The girl felt her cheeks burn. "Ugh, gosh this is so embarrassing... Can we change the subject? Sorry about all this fuzz, I'll sleep here on the floor, don't worry. I'm okay here."

"Get closer..." Drew dropped himself off the bed, sitting right next to May.

Both stood quiet for a while, concentrated on the discussion but unsure about what to say - until the green-haired boy broke the silence with a unsettled comment.

"Hmm, well... To be honest, I didn't know that at all."

"..._At all_?" The brunette turned her back to the other side and stared at his emerald eyes, slightly surprised; she couldn't read his face at all.

"You never said it by yourself so I could never know it for sure..."

What was only a hint of interest mixed with a pinch of hope was truth after all. Drew's heart started to beat faster. Under his fake cocky grin and not so interested expression, he was truly dying of curiosity to hear May's answer. "So you want to know me better? Officially a fangirl now?"

A bit annoyed, May clenched her fists. "Why would I-"

"Yes or no? You have just said you wanted to get closer, haven't you?..."

"Ugh... Yes, yes Drew... But I am not your fan-"

"I think that's... Fun? Because, you know... I might want to know you better as well."

That comment surprised the coordinator girl as much as a slap in the face. She held her cheek in awe as if the blow had hit her face for real.

Drew? Interested in her? Since when he cared about her life besides her coordinator career?

"Ah... Am I sleeping? Is that a sort of bizarre dream or something?" May shyly turned her face to Drew, expecting him to look at her but he was looking away.

"I don't know about you but I feel exhausted. We should sleep, maybe it's really just a dream... Who knows?"

"I-I think... Uh..." The brunette held her hand closer to her chest thinking about what had just happened - but maybe that was really the right time to stop arguing and teasing each other or else they would definitely miss CW next day. "Anyway... Good night."

May hid her face under her arm and pretended to be back to sleep.

"Good night." Drew sighed, feeling very tired. Grabbing the sheets on the bed, he covered the delicate body of his rival under them. Watching her trying to rest on the floor, he stood by her side and closed his eyes.

"...Sweet dreams, May."

May discreetly glanced over Drew and saw him resting with a calm expression.

Drew... Did she hear it right? Getting his respect was something she sort of always wished for but... Did he really think she was an interesting person?

Several mixed feelings danced inside her stomach, her thoughts were spinning. Why was she feeling so strange?

That night May didn't dream anything at all; her mind was too busy organizing all the new information inside her head.

Get closer... It was only a small line but that was enough to mess up with everything.

"Drew..."

* * *

><p>AN: Hi guys! How are you? Hope everything is okay there!

Hm yeah, this chapter is a little bit shorter than usual (but last chapter was a bit longer than usual! Could you accept it as my lame excuse? xD)... On the other hand, it's a full single long scene (no intermission breaks) and I think it's an important point of the story.

lol I am planning to write a less slow-paced story after Welcome Home. This fic has reached 16 chapters in my notebook and I want to start scribbling a new story soon. Still trying to figure out if I should try another canon universe story or AU and what genre should I explore...

I find it funny how May isn't oblivious to love like Ash (lol anyone is better than Ash in this aspect I guess) but somehow she never notices how Drew is highly attracted by her personality and flaws. She seems to be fairly unconscious about why she blushes when talking to him, idk. Take how she reacted with Brianna's question and Solidad's "_You_ and only you" comment. I guess that's because she always bounce between being very confident and unsure. Plus her stubborn side would never let her that maybe they could actually like each other? /derails

Regarding Sid in last chapter - lol, I am glad you guys liked his appearance in this story. /hint It's not over yet~. And about the next chapter... Another person will bump into the two coordinators in front of Drew's house... I already mentioned the character's name in this story - can you guess who is coming? P:


	7. Chapter 7: The other girl

**Welcome Home ch7: The other girl**

May woke up feeling good, once again welcomed by a nice and warm weather. Sensing a tasty meal aroma coming from the kitchen, she quickly changed her clothes and ran down the stairs, her stomach growling in anxiety.

"Good morning, Drew!"

The young coordinator saw his brunette partner happily waving hello in blue clothes, which happened to match perfectly with her deep sapphire eyes. She smiled and stood by his side, watching with attention their breakfast being prepared by fast and skillful hands.

"Guess you really like bandannas, huh?" He stared at her hair accessory then flipped the pancakes on the pan in a perfect and stylish way. "I will finish this here in a minute. By the way, did you manage to sleep well?"

_Because, you know... I might want to know you better as well._

"Hm yeah..." May vaguely remembered the awkward moment that happened the night before and felt a small tug in her chest. _To know each other better._.. Somehow thinking about that felt mildly strange so she tried to change the topic as fast as she could. "Hey, your breakfast smells like paradise!"

"Sure it does." Grinning smugly, Drew flipped the pancakes once again. "One more item to the 'I wish I were like Drew' list?"

"I say_ one_ good thing about you and you stomp on me as a reward for that, sheesh." Furrowing her eyebrows, the girl crossed her arms in disbelief. "Thank you, huh?"

"I considered saying 'I am sorry' but you made me realize that was a bad answer. So..." The green-haired teenager smirked. "May, _you're welcome_."

"Ugh. I hate you..." May clenched her fists, stomping her feet on the floor. However, she restrained herself from slapping her rival down and forced up a smile - even though a huge vein was throbbing from her temple in annoyance. "Okaaay, I'll pretend I didn't listen to that if you tell me you're going to make the perfect berry syrup to match with these pancakes!"

"The perfect syrup?" Smiling in vain, Drew flicked his hair. "I personally like maple better than berry syrup but I'll see what I can do... I accept your challenge."

* * *

><p>The brunette coordinator ate all her pancakes shamelessly - not really what her rival would call <em>classy<em> but he was pleased enough watching her eat breakfast with so much eager and joy. Drew laughed quietly and offered his last pancake; May didn't mind being compared to a Snorlax and happily accepted the treat from his plate.

"Better than Brock's?" The boy teased, crossing his arms in a proud stance.

May took a generous bit of the last pancake with her fork and pondered, closing her eyes and concentrating to give her fair judgement.

"Uhhhm... It's _different_."

Drew raised an eyebrow.

"_Different_? You really like to use that word to describe me, huh?"

"It's just that I can't say one is better than the other! Both are good, they're just... Different." The brunette felt her cheeks glow in red, slightly embarrassed with that comment. "Anyway, I liked yours a lot too! So yummy... How did you learn to cook?"

"Well, one day I got tired and bored of eating out all the time, so I decided to try cooking meals by myself since I thought it could be entertaining and relaxing. There's no secret about that."

"I don't think being a skilled cook is a common knowledge." The girl pouted. "The way you say it..."

"Practice leads to perfection. Natural talent, taste and senses make the food heavenly, don't you think these are the same traits that a Coordinator should have? Good coordinator, good chef. Bad chef..."

"I hope you aren't implying anything..." The brunette coordinator frowned a bit, pointing her fork to her rival's face. The green-haired boy just shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn't say a word about it."

"By the way..." Lowering her hand, May tilted her head to the side, looking at Drew thoughtfully. "You really got tired of eating at Pokemon Centers, restaurants and fancy places?"

"Yes, I did. Why?"

"Nothing. It's just that..." The teenager girl grinned sheepily at her rival. "Ehehe, wow. If I had the money, I would definitely _never_ get tired of that..."

"Knowing you..." Drew sighed, then smirked. "I'm sure you would whine and cry about how solitaire and boring it is. I bet you would run back to your friends to eat canned food in the middle of a forest... Sooner than you think?"

"Aw, you think so?" The girl noticed a certain pinch of bitterness in that comment. When they were traveling together in Johto, she had never heard Drew complaining about dinner - maybe because he was hardly ever alone by himself? At the Pokemon Center, May or Harley (usually, both of them) would always bother him during meals while Solidad would always try to talk in private with him when ordering food... Before that, was Solidad the only person who would occasionally have a cup of coffee or tea with him?

Pondering about that, the teenager timidly added with a tiny smile on her face. "Well, I could always invite some good company to make it better. You know... If you called me back in those days, I wouldn't refuse to make you company and have a great meal!"

"Oh." Drew blinked, making her smile get wider and bigger. He considered saying something nice but changed his mind as soon as he opened his mouth. "I think that would be... Dangerous. Yeah, that would be definitely dangerous! Going from boring event to starving danger. It is really impressive how you crush food like your Munchlax but then... If I invited you to dinner with me, I would be able to eat only a few small crumbles of leftovers after your devastation spree..."

May immediately tried to poke Drew with her fork, making the boy laugh while dodging the clumsy attack. "Hahaha, how mean! I make breakfast for you and that's what I get in return..."

"You. Deserve. It!" The brunette kept trying hitting him, slightly annoyed. "You deserve every single fork stab!"

"I think I deserve a maid to help me clean the kitchen instead of this... I mean, isn't it a valid small thank you gesture for the super kind and nice Drew, who fed a certain poor coordinator with luscious food and let her live in his house during her humble holidays?"

The coordinator girl blushed, controversial feelings boiling inside her chest. She kind of liked and agreed with Drew's idea as a retribution for breakfast - but she also wanted to smack him on the face.

_More than once._

"_No way_. I mean, yes, I can do this favor for you Drew. That's pretty fair and won't hurt me anyway. And again, thanks for letting me stay here for CW, you are a wonderful person, your pancakes are great, blah blah blah... Happy now?"

"It might be a happier moment if you complete the maid kit by calling me 'master'? An intense feet massage? How about a Victorian maid costume?"

"Dreeeeew!" May shook her head in embarrassment. "Why would I wear _that?_"

"I am just joking, don't take it seriously..." The boy chuckled, hiding a small blush on his cheeks. "Really, why would I want that..."

The brunette grabbed the black apron (still full of vestiges of disastrous pink stains) from the doorknob and, trying to avoid crossing looks with her rival, started washing the dishes.

The girl pretended to be fine humming a happy and upbeat song; however, it was very clear she was a bit annoyed judging by the aggressive way her arms were moving. Drew had the impression she was imagining different creative ways to kill him...

_Knock Knock Knock_

"Drew, what's that?"

* * *

><p>"Huh? Someone is at my door... How weird, who could be at this time?" The green-haired coordinator pressed his hand on the back of his neck, confused. "I don't remember giving anyone my residential address... <em>Miss Mayd<em>, could you please help me opening the door?"

"Ha-ha, what a lovely funny nickname. I'll kill you later." May answered in a robotic tone, almost shooting the spoon in her hands on Drew's head when the knocking grew louder. "I'm coming, one second!"

The coordinator girl stomped across the living room and opened the door in an angry slam. "Hi, do you need anything I can h-... Brianna?"

"May?" A short and shy girl stared at the brunette, hiding her slightly surprised face behind a little bouquet of flowers. "Hi, how are you? Ahh, I'm so sorry! I think I've got the wrong address..."

"Is everything alright there?" Drew popped up behind his rival. "Hm... Hi, Brianna?"

* * *

><p>"Mr Drew! May!"<p>

Brianna scratched her eyes and stared at her two idols, standing next to each other.

May wearing an apron? Drew with May in his house? What was that?

"Oh Mew, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt your date or anything like that..."

"D-Date?" May blinked then blushed furiously, waving her arms in surprise. "Oh no no no no, that's not a date!"

"Not a date?" The redhead sighed in relief and smiled timidly. "Ah... You two scared me, hahaha!"

The younger girl twirled her feet on the ground, clumsily trying to control her shyness. "Mr Drew, I brought you these flowers... I tried to talk to you past Grand Festival but I couldn't find you. Thankfully, one of your friends saw me and gave me this address, isn't that great? Then as soon as I saw the advertisements about CW in LaRousse, I thought it would be the perfect chance to find you! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Oh... Thank you, Brianna. That's really sweet and I am glad to see you too." The boy gently accepted the gift, holding it in his arms. "By the way, which friend of mine helped you?"

"It was a tall man with pretty purple hair... I am not sure about his name, we talked a bit then he just gave me this black envelop and disappeared like magic... But he seemed to really care about you!"

"Ugh." Drew's colors suddenly faded away. May chuckled, wanting to burst in laughter - she could almost hear the sound of his smile shatter like a broken glass. "Oh, _that_ friend... I have no idea how he knows my address."

"It's so good to see you two again. Thank you for the attention and..." Bowing slightly, the redhead pressed her hands against he chest. "I'm sorry for not bringing you anything, May! I didn't know I would meet you here and..."

"Aww, it's okay. Like a friend of mine likes to say..." May took off the apron and grinned sheepishly. "No need to worry!"

"Mind if I ask you something?" Brianna pointed at the apron with puzzled looks. "Why were you wearing that?"

"Today, May is my personal maid." Drew shrugged, followed by an angry stare of his rival. "She's too reckless, can you believe she forgot to find a place to stay during CW? Isn't that a shame?"

"Shut up, grass head." The brunette scratched the back of her head, blushing a bit. "Uh, yeah... I won't deny that was stupid of me. Now that Drew is doing me a big favor, I wanted at least to help him a bit with the house chores. It's really nothing serious. And no, _I'm not his maid_."

"Eh..." The rookie redhead coordinator suddenly felt her stomach sink, feeling helpless and uncomfortable - May was staying in Mr Drew's house? May was living under the same roof as Mr Drew and complaining about it? For real?

How frustrating, anyone would like to be in her place!That was so unfair... Unless that could be changed to something better for everybody. Brianna had a sudden idea, clasping her hands tightly and smiling in relief. "I have a great plan! We can share my room. I managed to check in at Swablu Hotel just for the CW, it's next to Convention Center! There is an empty bed in my room, you can use it! Isn't that awesome?"

The brunette blinked in surprise.

"Oh. Uh, I don't know." May bit her lips and her tiny friend frowned, unhappy with such bland and unexcited answer. "I-I, well..."

Drew smirked, flicking the tip of his bangs. How fun it was to watch his rival struggling... About him. "Isn't Brianna nice, May? Don't be rude, show that you care about your friend and thank her properly..."

"Shut up, Drew. Thanks Brianna, I really appreciate your invitation but..."

"C'mon, it's going to be fun!" The young coordinator grabbed the arm of her veteran. "Plus you won't need to bother Mr Drew anymore, I am not going to charge you anything after all..."

The brunette stared helplessly at her rival, without knowing what to say. He just replied her stare with a silent mischievous grin.

May blushed, staring at the floor. Brianna's invitation was truly very nice, however... She actually wanted to stay at Drew's house. She didn't know exactly the reason, yet she didn't want to think about that. The coordinator girl had some fun staying in her rival's house; but still, she refused to say it out loud - particularly in front of _him_.

"Thanks for the invitation but I need to say here at least a couple of days. We are going to take part in the Appeal Exhibition Show and Drew wants it to be perfect... So do I. We can visit you in our free time, I'm sure it will be fun!"

"Oh." Brianna's happy smile faded out a bit. "I... Uh, I understand. Are you sure about it? You don't need to be with me all the time, we can come back here anytime even if you stay in my hotel room. It's not up to me, I think it's up to you, May."

The brunette kept looking at the floor, unsure about what answer she should give to her friend. Drew quickly pressured May into saying anything; the boy flicked his hair then looked at his rival with a sympathetic smirk. "_It's up to you, May._"

"M-Me?..." The girl froze down, feeling her body get heavier and heavier. "Uhh, I think..."

Raising her head and looking at her rival, May met Drew's eyes staring at her with overconfidence. _Was he doing that on purpose?_ She couldn't help but feel angry when she figured out he knew what was her answer_. _Even more angrier because he was clearly waiting for her to say it out loud in front of the two of them.

No matter what was her reply, she had to say it now.

_I don't want to lose but I think I cannot escape... Okay, Drew. If you want so much to win this, you gotta tell me the truth too! _

"...I'm fine either way. I think I rather staying here because of our rehearsals but I might be a burden to you. You want me to stay or should I go with Brianna? _It's up to YOU, Drew_."

"Hmm, I think May is right." Brianna suddenly changed her usual sweet and shy voice to a suspicious and inquisitive one. "So, Mr Drew... Can I take May from you or do you really want her to stay with you?"

Both girls stared at Drew, curious glares waiting for a final answer.

The green-haired teenager hesitated before saying anything. Somehow the mood got strangely darker, like if a bomb could explode at any moment. The boy had his personal choice but he felt that any answer was going to be disastrous - he had to choose the least unsuccessful one...

"You're a very kind girl, Brianna... But Miss Airhead got a point, she's a big burden but we really need to focus on our beauty training. Don't worry, I'll take the responsability of controlling May's wild impulses, you have no idea how much she actually eats... It's scary. You don't deserve to meet all demons of May's dark side. Can you believe it, she spent all her spare time and money to buy a totally random dress... I think I need to keep an eye on her or else our Tag Appeal will suck. Yeah, I think I want her to stay here at least until the day of our presentation... But please help me by giving her an example about how a dedicated coordinator should properly behave."

...Also known as "to crush May's ego (not so) gracefully".

"Ahh..." Brianna sighed, feeling defeated. She smiled weakly to her idol, hoping he didn't notice her disappointment. "Eh, it's alright then. Thanks for helping her, you're the very kind guy, not me. Anyway, if you guys change your mind, promise you will call me!"

Dragging May away from Drew, the little girl started whispering to her friend. "I didn't give up! You might be closer to win but I refuse to forfeit while you still not trying and he still unsure..."

The brunette got lost in those resolute words. "...What?"

"I'll do my best, you will see!" Brianna sticked her tongue out playfully. "Don't underestimate me!"

"Uh, sorry?" The brunette blinked in confusion. "Underestimate you?"

"Nothing..." The redhead shook her head and waved goodbye to the two coordinators. "Bye May, bye Mr Drew! See you later in CW!"

"Underestimate?..." The older girl waved her hand with a bewildered look printed on her face. What did her friend mean with that? "Bye, Brianna..."

* * *

><p>May put the last dish on the dryer. Watching the blue horizon from the large window panels in front of the sink, she quietly sang a sweet melody, pretending to be relaxed and tranquil.<p>

Drew was sitting on the table, eating an apple. Hearing May sing, he turned his attention to her; he knew she was trying to pull that "I am not angry" trick.

"If you're lucky enough, you can spot a Lapras far away in the horizon instead of those Surkist that like to come near my house in the evening."

"Lapras are sea pokemon..." The girl answered in a not so interested and plain voice. "I thought LaRousse's water came from rivers."

She kept singing. Drew stopped biting the fruit, slightly intrigued by his rival's reaction. "Yes, they are. By the way... Were you jealous?"

The girl stopped the song as soon as she heard the "jealous" word. He kept pressing on. "Of Brianna. Were you jealous of her?"

"No... No! No! No!" May bitterly crossed he arms, looking away. "Why would I be jealous of Brianna... She's my friend."

"I don't know..." Drew smirked, smug look on his face. "You used to be nicer to her. You were quite aggressive when we were chatting at the door."

"I _am_ nice to her!" The coordinator girl groaned. "It's just that... I find it a bit frustrating how you never stay on my side and mocks me every time we are in front of her. It's annoying, it's disgusting, it's totally unfair. That has nothing to do with jealousy. I'm not jealous."

"You find that totally unfair and you say you're not jealous? Wow, you're really bad at hiding your feelings..."

May crossed the kitchen in silence and stopped right by his side. The boy insisted on the issue, changing the question a bit. "If you weren't jealous, then why are you so annoyed now?"

"Oh, shut up. Hmpf, _totally random_..."

Throwing the apron at Drew, the brunette walked away without looking back.

"..._ Totally random?_" Jumping off the table, he considered going after her - but instead of that, he just shrugged and sat on the chair to finish his apple. After all, he was only joking with her. It wasn't anything serious, right?

May whispered to herself in a hiss, trying to vent her indignation.

"Jerk... I picked up that red dress because of _you_, Drew!..."

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks for the lovely reviews :) I noticed I've been getting several pageviews in this story - please leave your good and bad words about it if you can ^^ It helps a lot to keep writing and fixing my mistakes/editing extra content for my story! Also, thank you very much for the favorite notes, that really means a lot for me. Keeps me motivated to not stop writing Contestshipping stories P: I'm happy to know the CS fandom still fairly alive in ffnet, I thought it was quite dead from what I see in popular pokemon forums...

About the plot: lol yes, it was Brianna - not Ash neither Harley (But /hint2 the cameo's are not over yet to tell you the truth~). You guys don't like her? xD Well she kinda gets on the way of Contestshipping, but honestly I've never considered her a true "threat" to their relationship lol. I know they're all about 10 years old but Brianna gives me the vibe of someone so much younger - I wonder if Drew is already aware she has a big crush on him... Any of you have a different view on her? And damn, Drew... lol you are that vain to think that May was angry just because of Brianna? Why can't you be nice to May in front of the others? You seriously need to stop being that full of yourself.

Hahaha I am sure Harley is a pro stalker and knows where does Drew live in LaRousse (and also where does May live in Petalburg) lol. He also probably knows all those random trivia Drew's fanclub desires to know so much... /Harley takes notes about Drew's toothpaste brand behind a huge fake bush

Wow that was fast, one more chapter and we will reach the mid of the whole fic :O! Also, the Appeal Exhibition is going to happen soon, can you guess what Pokemon Drew and May are planning to use? xD

Cookies for those who noticed May is wearing Sapphire's clothing (PokeSpecial) in this chapter! To those who have never seen it, it is similar to her Johto/Emerald clothing but instead of green/orange, it's blue.


	8. Chapter 8: The other side of the door

**Welcome Home ch8: The other side of the door  
><strong>

"Pff, that was exhausting! My feet hurt..."

May took off her shoes and threw herself on the sofa, placing her purse and dozen of product ads on the coffee table. The girl was quite tired of walking around in CW stands but she was also happy for discovering many new Contest categories around the world.

Unova had _musicals_! So interesting and so different... The Hoenn coordinator had no idea how she would deal with this kind of competition. She imagined herself trying to close her ears while her Pokemon danced with clumsy steps and barked off-tune notes, judges hiding under their chairs... Maybe it was time to everybody exercise new talent skills?

Talking about skills, it was about time to start planning their special show for the Appeals Exhibition. May stared at the pokeballs in her belt, thinking about her team and Drew's Pokemon. She crossed her arms thoughtfully, sitting in silence for few meaningful seconds.

_Maybe I should call Mom later and get Glaceon back for our Tag Appeal..._

May decided to go to the bedroom and get the battery charger in her bag to recharge her PokeNav. Going upstairs, she spotted the flower Pokemon sitting on the last step next to the corridor.

"Hi, Roserade! How are you? Is Drew here, I've just arrived..."

Roserade nodded happily, pointing her tiny arm to the bathroom. "Roseree!"

May heard the sound of the shower and saw the steam in the air coming from the bathroom. She giggled like a little girl and tried playfully to knock on the door three times. Hearing no answer at all, the brunette started speaking in a cheerful voice, singing her rival's name. "Dreeeew, guess who's here?"

"No."

"N... No?" The girl blinked. "_No_ what?"

"I know you're dying to come in, but... No. Dangerous _perverted girl_, stay away from me."

"W-w-w-what!" May's cheeks blushed furiously and Drew burst out laughing. She hit the door with angry kicks, making him laugh even louder. "You... Y-You jerk!"

"Okay, I am filling the bathtub now. Going to stay here longer so you can build up your desires, hahaha..."

"Dreeew!"

Stomping her feet on the floor with angry steps, she walked to the bedroom and sat on the bed with crossed arms and a very annoyed face.

"Hmpf! As if I were interested on seeing him under the shower... Silly!" For a second, May wondered why she didn't accept in a heartbeat Brianna's invitation to stay at Swablu Hotel. "Drew is so annoying... He's a demon! Roserade must be a really _zen Pokemon_, such great patience!"

"Rose?"

The elegant grass pokemon tilted her head to the side, watching May complain to the silent bedroom walls. Was everything alright there? "She really deserves a trophy for listening to Drew talking like this all day long!"

Roserade laughed, covering her mouth with its bouquet hands.

"Oh, you heard me..." May whispered slightly flustered, turning her attention to Drew's Pokemon. "Yeah... Sorry, I was talking about you. But I was praising your courage, don't you think he is too annoying sometimes?"

Roserade happily sat on the bed right by May's side, bouncing her slender legs in the air. The flower creature laughed again, mimicking her master by flicking the white petal rose on its head; the coordinator girl smiled. "Yeah, you should know him better than I do!"

Drew's partner sighed dramatically, acting as if being his Pokemon was the most exhausting profession in the world - which in fact, was no easy job. Roserade and the others did trust and respect their coordinator, but... Seriously, that boy knew how to drive everybody crazy being damn demanding and annoying. _Very annoying._

The brunette giggled. "I don't feel that bad anymore, it means he's mean not exclusively with me..."

Staring again at the small details of the room, May got her attention back to the bookshelf; she watched the old Budew photo contemplatively. "Is that you in that picture?"

Roserade confirmed the question nodding her head timidly. "Rosss..."

"Awww, that's so cute! Were you Drew's first Pokemon?" Said Pokemon nodded again - this time with proud shining eyes. It pointed to the small notebook on Drew's desk then poked May's arm.

"Oh? I-Is it okay t-to take a look at his stuff?" The brunette stuttered, feeling slightly embarrassed but also itching with curiosity. Roserade tried to explain her words by speaking Pokemon language and gesticulating her hands; the girl watched it with attention then tried to translate the sentence. "Oh... Guess I can only see that thing slipping out from the inside? That's okay for me!"

Roserade smiled and May took that reaction as a positive answer; she jumped off the bed and pulled out with caution the white square card stored right after the notebook's hardcover. "Huh, blank?"

Turning the card to the other side, May finally noticed it wasn't just any random card - it was an old polaroid picture featuring little Drew hugging Budew in a background full of rose bushes. He was laughing and being held by a slim woman with a soft blue dress and long green hair; right by her left side, a tall man in a dark suit grinned and affectionally ran his hand through the boy's hair.

"Pretty..." May felt stunned by the picture, feeling her face warmer than usual. "She's very pretty and he's quite handsome too..."

The girl immediately recognized that shiny soft hair and those deep charming eyes in that endearing couple. They were without doubt a young good-looking and a quite happy family. The brunette couldn't help but feel bittersweet and intrigued by many questions.

"Roserade... Where are his parents? Why does he live by himself?..."

"Rosee." Drew's partner gave her a sad smile and whispered slowly - words that May would never be able to understand, still she knew they were meant to be a sincere apology; it wouldn't tell her the answer even if she could fully understand Pokemon language. "Rosee-rade..."

"I would never blackmail him with that." May frowned a bit in frustration and returned the picture to the notebook, contemplating cute happy kid Drew for the last time. Roserade shrugged her shoulders in sympathy. "It's just that... I can't ask him about this, you know? Not personally..."

The flower pokemon gently crossed her arms, then nodded its head to the corridor.

"Really? You think I should ask him that myself?"

Roserade simply smiled and elegantly waved goodbye, leaving the coordinator girl alone by herself. May blinked in sincere surprise.

"Getting to know him better... Maybe is not that hard as I think it is?"

* * *

><p>Drew drowned his head under the water, thinking about the Appeals Exhibition. Perhaps it was a good idea to hide Roserade's new trick and use a different Pokemon? Maybe Masquerain and Beautifly, Flygon and Blaziken, Absol and Glaceon? So many options, maybe it was better to check first what attacks May's Pokemon could use. Holding his breath, he tried to picture in his mind the best combination between Aerial Ace and-<p>

"Dreeeew! You still there?"

_How lovely, I don't have a single minute of silence in my own place..._

Being interrupted once again, he emerged from the water and rested his head on the edge of the tub. Drew groaned, looking quite disturbed. "What is it now?"

May leaned her back on the bathroom's door, shyly poking her cheeks with the fingertips. Cleaning her throat, she asked her rival in a very uneasy tone. "Are you still busy? Well, can we talk a bit?"

"As if I could stop you from talking. You and Solidad, I don't get why you two bother asking me that..."

"Hmpf, I was trying to be nice..." The girl pouted, still playing with her fingers. "Anyway, is it a bad time for personal and intrusive questions?"

"Is there a good time for that kind of question?..." Drew frowned. "Well, then suprise me, May."

"Hmm..." The girl cleaned her throat again. "So, I was chatting with Roserade about random stuff and..."

"I really thought about... About... About what you told me during the breakfast! Yes, about water Pokemon!" May smacked herself for being unable to ask her true question."How can you see Lapras in the horizon if Larousse is a city between two rivers?"

"... You two were talking about _water Pokemon_?" Drew raised an eyebrow. "What a strange subject..."

"Yeah, isn't it? Anyway..." The brunette crossed her arms with burning red ears. "Lapras are sea Pokemon, therefore..."

"LaRousse is an estuary."

"What?..." The girl tilted her head to the side in confusion. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"This city is a rich natural habitat for water Pokemon, where water from two rivers meet the ocean. That's why Lapras enjoy hanging out there, as well why there is a rumour about a Luvdisc sanctuary in that spot." The boy raised his arms outside the water and rested his head on them. "Tell me the truth, you used to sleep during geography classes, didn't you? Kinda funny for some kid whose dream was to travel around the word..."

"I just forgot the meaning of that word, alright? I wasn't a bad student at school... At all." May coughed, slightly embarrassed. "Anyway, whatever!"

"That's all?" Drew smirked, skeptically. "Wow, what a personal question. I feel so violated now because you invaded my privacy. Excuse me, I think I should cry and drown myself and-"

"N-No, I've got another one..." Taking a long breath, the brunette blurted out another question. "Uh, you've told me about your garden when we arrived on the first day of CW! Are we going to start that?"

"Yes, that's my true question!" May smacked herself again for totally failing being straight to the point. "Hahaha, I mean... I thought roses took a very long time to bloom if we start everything from zero! Right? How are we going to do this?"

"I told you, Roserade's abilities go beyond being a great and successful Contest Pokemon." Drew grinned. "Being a flower Pokemon, it's easy to imagine that the whole Budew family line got some close relationship with roses, don't you think?"

"To be honest, I've never seen yours doing something like this but I thought they had some power related to their natural poison..."

"Oh, not all of them are born with the trait of poisoning enemies by simple skin contact, mine can only do that using thorns hidden under the bouquets. My Roserade is one from those species that can heal themselves, you know? Like Chansey and Blissey." Opening a tiny blue bottle, the green-haired teenager emptied its contents into the bathtub. "She can produce small rose buds and use her chemical components to activate their faster development. In a short, Roserade can grow roses by herself in a few days... So, what's so intrusive about that? Did you want some proof that I am more knowledgeable than you?"

"Maybe... Oh, I get it." Speaking in a fake serious tone, Drew let a smile of mild amusement slip from his sardonic expression - she couldn't see him through the door anyway. "Alright, time is over for encyclopedia quiz time. Tell me what you want to know about me so much."

Feeling intimidated, May stood up and clenched her fists nervously in reaction to the sudden change of mood of her rival. She bit her lips and closed her eyes, still unsure about how to proceed. "This is something that's been bothering me for a while... It's about you and has nothing to do with Pokemon. I don't want to hurt you, offend you or anything like that, but..."

That shouldn't be hard, right? It was an obvious question that anyone would ask in her place. Besides, she was probably just imagining a couple of crazy stuff - and Drew told her it was okay to know him better. It had no reason to be such complicated issue!

"Which is?"

"It's about..."

_Oh, no way that getting to know him better is "not that hard". It's really hard... To me. _This is so embarrassing!__

"-wait, this smell... Are those are _bath salts_? Drew, how many cosmetics bottles and stuff do you have there in your bathroom? Do you really use all of them? I know your hair is really pretty, I know it's good to take care of your beauty... But I tried to count all of them yesterday and I am sure you've got much more than I do... and _I am a girl_! Don't you think this is a little bit-"_  
><em>

"The fact that I take care of my image better than you do, I cook better than you do and I am way more organized than you only implies that you are a mess." Drew quickly answered before his rival completed her surprised statement. "Gosh, leave me alone a bit. Go get busy with something else!"

"Hahaha! Yes, yes, thanks for answering me!" May ran away from the corridor in an ineffable mix of regret and relief. She couldn't describe it - however, with a hundred percent pure assurance, she knew it was better to stay far away from that bathroom now. "That's all I wanted to know, take your time!"

The boy slowly hit his head on the tub in frustration. "Sigh... This woman is completely crazy."

"Eh..." Staring at the empty bottle in his hands, Drew blushed a bit. He whispered to himself, feeling quite impressed and afraid of being as obsessive as Harley. "You're kidding, right? It's not possible that May has less cosmetic products than I do..."

* * *

><p>The coordinator girl threw herself in Drew's bed, taking off her black socks. "I'm bored..."<p>

May strongly tried to hold her curiosity impulses; she wanted to but refused to open his drawers - her conscience had to be as _zen_ as Roserade's! She groaned, aware of how disrespectful it was to snoop around the room while her rival was away. The brunette stared dreamily at the white ceiling, then to the right opened door, then finally to the left more or less opened door...

_Wait, left opened door?_

Pretending that her dilemma of two minutes ago didn't happen, May quietly walked to the mysterious door - ready to explore the new room in Drew's house. "A new episode of _May's fantastic journey_!"

The girl entered the dark room, looking for a switch. There was one right by her side - turning on the lights, she could clearly see what that room was supposed to be.

"Oh. A closet?"

The young coordinator saw organized clean and folded clothes inside the small cluttered room. They had a faint smell of being slightly forgotten back there in the dark - probably no one entered the house during the time they were away travelling around Johto; still, she could notice the peculiar sweet scent from Drew's hair. She giggled as she recognized that by closing her eyes and holding a white shirt next to her nose. It wasn't sweaty like Ash's red cap or absolutely neat like Max's green shirt but it gave her that same good sensation of something familiar that makes someone feel safe and comfortable... In fact, it made her head feel lighter and dizzy.

May felt her chest burn in strange feelings; she felt somehow a bit upset when she noticed that scent made her feel good. To make it more bizarre, the girl figured out for the first time how easy it was for her nose to recognize Drew's scent. She could spot the fragance accent of the perfumes Solidad and Harley enjoyed wearing everyday - but definitely not their scent. But Drew's... Why could she feel that?

Although sometimes he managed to annoy and make her angrier than a wild Primeape, she had to admit it - Drew was a cool and interesting rival. He was an attractive guy even though he had the ability to look like the ugly little devil due to his pride and arrogance. They always had some sort of strange click, a subtle personality chemistry way before when they met in Hoenn, competed in Kanto and travelled together in Johto. Now thinking about it, he was kind of nicer to her now. Drew even let her ask him stupid questions and bother him with her eccentric desires! Yeah, maybe she had no reason to be so afraid and nervous of being scorned... After all, he was giving her a chance to get closer to him. She hugged the shirt, thoughtfully-

..._Since when things got weirder and weirder?_

"Drew, why..."

"May?"

Suddenly, the lights went off. The brunette coordinator felt a jolt of terror going down her spine_. _"Ugh... Ehh, hi?"

After several seconds of silence and shock, two desperating thoughts came up in May's mind as she turned to her back and faced Drew staring at her.

First one - would she ever be able to unsee that moment? Confused Drew, puzzled face, wet hair. Intrigued emerald eyes glued to her sapphire ones. Shirtless... Pantless? _Towel_.

"Wait, what are you doing _here_?"

The second one... Surprised wet Drew in a towel _watching her hold his shirt to her face_ inside his closet for totally no reason at all.

Oh, Mew. That _he_ would never be able to unsee.

"Uhh, May?... _Why are you here inside my closet_?"

* * *

><p>AN: Besides the old lady from the renting store, I think Drew's family cameo is the closest thing I can call "OCs" in this story lol... I'm sorry, not going further on Drew's parents and their current status regarding their son in the following chapters ^^; I thought it could derail the plot a bit and their (absent) role in Welcome Home was to point out how Drew is quite secretive about his personal life - and how Roserade is his closest and most trusted Pokemon... hmmm, maybe I should explore it in another story? (But I guess May could ask him about these stuff if she wanted to/manage to have the guts to ask about it. What do you think?)

Sorry if this chapter was a little bit more "boring" than the others, had to stuff lots of stuff to connect the first part of the story to the next chapters x_x; Oh, about the PokeNav, I know they never run out of battery ingame but I think they are supposed to be charged sometimes - guess they have excellent batteries but it is good to make maintenances to your equipment, right?

Drew's explanation about Roselia/Roserade's power to pop up flowers = Natural Cure ability instead of Poison Point; connecting their roots to the soil, they can pass this ability to similar plants. I hope you like that idea... Kinda works to explain how did he manage to get so many fresh and new roses for May from nowhere xD

And about the next chapter... Curiosity killed the Skitty? Omg May, what are you going to do? You better have a great excuse or else~ xD (skip the next chapter if you don't want to read the reason why this story had to be rated T lol - it's pretty tame imo but~ yanno, YMMV...)


	9. Chapter 9: The challenge

**Welcome Home ch9: The challenge**

May tried to move it gently, shaking it with caution. Feeling more confident, she speeded up the gesture in a faster pace - but nothing changed at all. Getting worried and feeling her whole body shake in tension, her approach suddenly started getting aggressive and intense...

But zero success.

She groaned in defeat, kicking the door in frustration.

"It... Doesn't... Open!" The brunette cried in shock, sweeping out the sweat from her forehead. "How did you manage to do that?_!_"

"I don't know!" The green-haired boy shouted back, as impatient as his rival. "I just don't know, May! Okay? Now let me try it again."

While Drew tried to open the door for the hundredth time, May discreetly put his white shirt aside and sat on the floor, completely impassive. "Ahh, I can't believe it! That's impossible, how could you do that?"

Drew raised an eyebrow and looked at his rival with burning eyes, most likely about to lose his patience. "_YOU_ can't believe it? _You_?_!_"

* * *

><p><em>(...)<br>_

_After the initial shock of being caught on act, May shouted in a surprised and frightened high-pitched scream. Almost instinctively, Drew immediately turned the lights off and shut the door in a slam, locking themselves inside the small and narrow closet. Both stared at each other with surprised looks, without knowing what to say.  
><em>

_"What the?..."_

_"Ahhh!"_

_Trying to run away, the clumsy girl shut her eyes in shame and dodged looking directly at Drew. However, as expected, she bumped her head straight to a closed door - making a loud crack sound._

_"Ouch! Owww, that hurt!" May cried, feeling pain while rubbing her nose. "Was that a door?"  
><em>

_"That was really... Dumb. And yes, as far as I know that's a door." The green-haired teen lamented. "Eh, stop freaking out. You're scaring me this way..."_

_"Get me out!" The brunette tried to reach the doorknob - but Drew stopped her, apparently not as desperate as the crazy girl. "I'm sorry, let me go!"_

_"Just hold on a second, geez. Let me open this for you..." The boy sighed, with a huge sweat drop on his head. "Don't you dare running away when I open the door. I want some very good explanation about... This."_

__Tapping the corner of the door with his foot twice,_ he unlocked the door and turned the doorknob - however, it didn't move a single inch.  
><em>

_"Huh?" Shaking the doorknob in a stronger grip, Drew started to hit the door a bit more aggressively than he should. "Hm..."  
><em>

_"What's wrong?" The girl watched her rival with apprehensive eyes while he slammed his body with moderate violence against the door. "Uh... Drew? What happened?"_

_"Why is it- Oh, this is really bad." Turning his face back to May, Drew stared at her with an enigmatic expression. "Congratulations, your big head has just made a miracle. You're a genius."_

_"What?"_

_"I think we've got locked. I can't open the door."_

_"Whaaaaaat?"_

_(...)  
><em>

* * *

><p>"How do you get stuck in your own closet?"<p>

"How do I get... Excuse me, tell me how do I get stuck in my closet... _Not by myself but with someone else inside_ as well?" The boy apparently didn't notice she was few minutes ago exploring his closet by playing with his clothes (and holding one of his t-shirts); but that comment itself was already embarrassing enough to make May's face spark as red as her old bandanna. "What the heck were you doing here?"

"Ehhh..." She crossed her arms and looked away, twirling the tip of her hair bang. "I... I was... Fine, I won't lie. I was just being nosy, I admit it! Sorry, I was bored, I don't know why exactly I ended up peeking on your closet. This is my fault, I admit it!"

"You know that wise old saying about how curiosity killed the Skitty?" Drew sighed, not really surprised by May's confession. "You're the worse version of it. I'd call it the curious clumsy Skitty, it does get killed in the end but it also drags an innocent person into trouble."

"I knooow, I'm so sorry!" The girl cringed in mortification, trying to bury her face in her hands. "Okay, now dress something, I am not looking. I'll try to shout and see if Roserade can listen to us!"

"Not looking?"

The girl nodded. Taking off her bandanna, she placed it around her eyes. "I don't want to see _anything_ anyway... C'mon, let's swap places."

May started walking forward - however, Drew stopped her by raising his right hand. "No."

"...No?" The brunette stared at the hand standing in front of her. "No what?"

"You know, first of all, I don't believe you won't look at all. You might enjoy playing the innocent saint girl but... _You've just got locked in my closet_. You want me to trust your Skitty wannabe instincts? Besides... Nice blindfold, my hand thinks it is not working as it was supposed to work if you can see it. Kinky, yet I think it's not really the time for that."

"It's just to make you wear something fast, I don't want to look at you like this!" The brunette groaned angrily, crawling back to the back of the closet and taking the bandanna off her eyes, stuffing it inside her pocket. "Do something about that!"

For a couple of seconds, she accidentally stared at his chest - which made May immediately bury her face in her hands once again after she noticed Drew was watching said moment with a satisfied malicious grin.

"Haha, this is way much weirder than I thought. Who would know, I am supposed to be the one cornered in this situation... But you are the one freaking out as if you were afraid of me! So funny." Drew sat next to the door, crossing his arms and smirking at May with a smug look. "Is this too much hotness for you?"

"H-Hey, it's not like that..." The coordinator girl tried to explain herself. "Okay, I admit you don't look bad at all. But still, that has nothing to do with-"

"Ohhh, that means you admit you think I am attractive, thank you. Which also means you are indeed feeling overwhelmed by my handsome looks."

"NO!" May yelled her lungs out, feeling her ears burn in embarrassment. "Nonononono, stop implying I am a perverted egocentric demon like you!"

"I'm just stating some interesting facts, nothing else." The green-haired teenager smirked. "It's not my fault you get oppressed by my beauty, I understand your-"

"Drew, c'mon... I am _NOT_ afraid of you."

"Hm, really? Then... Prove it for me. Be my guest, I am waiting."

"I don't need to prove you anything." Trying to ignore her rival, May pretended to be much more interested in picking up a red candy from the colorful packaging in her pocket and eating it. "Hmpf, I am grown-up enough to ignore your _nonsense_ provocation."

"But I know you want to." The green-haired teenager said it in a seductive voice, opening his arms to her. "You never resist to my challenges..."

"Whatever. I don't need to do it anyway..."

"Okay, then I _dare_ you to." His mischievous grin got wider. "What do you think, how about this new proposal?"

The brunette blushed, avoiding to look directly at those captivating emerald eyes. "I have absolutely no reason to listen to your silly taunts..."

"Yeah... You're right, it is indeed only a silly taunt. I know you can't do it, that's why I dare you." The boy shrugged. "I know you believe you are in a lower step than me, but..."

A lower step... A lower step? _Is that what he really thought?_ May aggressively stomped her hands on the floor then pushed her body towards Drew in a higher level, looking down at him.

"What's that..." The boy raised an eyebrow, slightly intrigued by such strong mood swing. "May?"

"You're wrong."

"Wrong about?..."

"Lower step?" Staring bitterly at her rival, the girl crawled one more step closer to him. "Don't you ever say that! I'm not the best, I might be awful sometimes but I am not_ inferior_ to you!..."

The temperature of the closet got slightly lower. Drew stopped smiling with a smug face when May's annoyed facial expression suddenly got serious as if his previous words really hurt her. "You're mad? I didn't say 'you are'... 'You believe you are' has a whole different meaning..."

"Wait a second... I wasn't saying you're inferior. No, not this time." Shrugging his arms, the boy sighed. "You think I _underestimate_ you? Nah, I don't."

"Y-You... Don't?" May furrowed her eyebrows, still suspicious. "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm just being skeptical, you've got the potential but you're the one who screws it up with these insecurity breakdowns. It's not my fault you are the Slowpoke Queen from the Ash Ketchum School of Logic. C'mon, May..." Drew watched the teenager girl struggle with his comment, unsure if she should take it as a compliment or not. "Anyway, I still know you can't battle against me on equal terms unless you try something surprising and crazy... But that's the _fun part_ about it, right?"

"Something surprising and crazy?..."

Was that... _A challenge?_

"You know, Drew..." The brunette felt the palm of her hands getting sweaty. May advanced even closer to her half-naked rival, so close they were almost touching each other. The temperature inside the closet got clearly higher again. "I don't need to prove you anything to be right, are you aware of that?"

He smiled again. "So you're in... This will be fun, heh. You're too confident you will win this, that's not going to work."

"Me, winning against you? Who was the winner in Kanto's quarter-finals, huh?" May's lips hinted a sly grin. "Your score is not as perfect as you think it is."

"Tch, you didn't win the Kanto Grand Festival anyway... Solidad destroyed you in the semifinals. Plus I remember Skitty and Combusken being crushed in Hoenn's Grand Festival, do you remember that?" Drew stood on his knees trying to stay in a higher position than May. "That was such a sad scene."

"But that was my first time, I got better later!" The girl groaned, slapping her forehead. "Ergh, I was so inexperienced back there in Hoenn... And don't remind me of Johto's Grand Festival, I am still not over that lost yet! Gosh, that quarter-finals, I could have won that one..."

"Well, I can't say much since I was also out in the quarter-finals but hey, at least I lost to the Grand Festival's winner... Not that bad, huh. Anyway... " Drew smirked. "This is not exactly about Contests, you know. Beautifly and the others cannot help you this time."

"Meh." She noticed he wasn't sitting on the floor anymore and decided to provoke him back, poking his shoulder. "You can't stand being literally in a lower position than me and you say I'm the one lacking confidence?"

"Uh..." The boy coughed, a bit embarrassed - most because of her touch than the question itself. He quickly offered his answer, turning the battle spotlight back to May. "Eh... As if anything else would change if I were sitting on the floor, I don't get your argument. You still lack so much initiative, May... I am on the top. Defenseless or not, you never advance."

"Because I know you are afraid." Drew sat down again but this time his body arched back in a full relaxed and defenseless position, hands behind his head. "Prove me wrong?"

"Ha- ha." The girl felt her body tremble. Her gaze unconsciously focused on his emerald stare, then to his bare chest and back to his eyes, making her stomach burn in confusion. Luckily enough, the darkness inside the closet undercovered her awkward facial expression. "I've got this, Drew. You can't run away."

"I'm not running."

"Yeah, not yet." May leaned over Drew, putting her hands on her hips. "You will see..."

"I see nothing and I am still not running..."

"Will you stop telling me that? I've just said 'not yet', c'mon!" The girl whined in anxiety. "You will see!..."

May arched her body even closer to her rival, brushing her hand against his. Abruptly, everything in the room became blurred and her body became extremely heavy. It became hard to breath like if the air inside that narrow and small closet was running out in the next few minutes.

She didn't know exactly what she was trying to do, was she playing this only to win the bet - or was curiosity asking her to check with her own eyes what could possibly happen soon? Was it only curiosity? No reason at all?

It didn't matter anymore.

"Drew... What do you want?"

"Huh?" The green-haired boy stared at the girl, without blinking. "What do you mean with that?"

"_I see nothing and I am not running anymore_? Me too. So, tell me... What do you want, Drew?"

For the first time in his life, after playing with their eternal unspoken tension for so long, Drew squinted at those sapphire eyes and didn't know what they were saying.

May was known to be a very expressive girl; liking it or not, her facial expression and body language would often tell the others what were her true feelings behind her words and unexpectable reactions.

However, this time something seemed to be blocking the windows - he had no idea what was going on. They were so close, yet so far away and hard to read. Drew didn't know how to explain this feeling.

"Me? I don't know... Are you _offering me_ anything?"

"Maybe..." The girl vaguely answered her rival, looking up at the ceiling. She tried to copy his seductive mocking voice, talking in a playful sulty voice. "Just show me what you want instead of beat around the Bonsly."

The two coordinators stood in that uncomfortable position in a long and awful silence moment.

Actually, it was only ten seconds - but it surely felt like an eternity.

"No answer? See, you are no much different from me." May lowered her gaze at Drew's curious eyes, stronger and deeper. "I dare you to say anything. You're not in position to flick your hair or smirk like if you were on the top, are you?"

"My... My confidence is not a mask." The boy felt his forehead sweat in stress. "I could be fully naked and guess what, I would still be able to do this _just to annoy you_."

Drew flicked his hair like he always did - but this time, since May was so close to him, his hand trembled in tension and awkwardly hit her forehead.

Surprisingly, instead of hissing angrily at him, the brunette remained still like a stone even though he didn't retreat his fingers - they kept touching her soft skin.

The boy was slightly afraid of losing the grip but feeling May's temperature with his hand, he could feel she was as warm and tense as himself. He still had the chance to beat her... He only needed to stand _a little bit more_ and push _a little bit further_. Drew grinned in victory. "...Should I show you that?"

"I-I-I, who said I want to see that!" The brunette strongly shook her head, taking off her rival's hand from her forehead. "Are you crazy?_!_"

With that clumsy headshake, Drew noticed how those tempting lips were really close to his face. The boy felt his blood pressure rushing faster and his body suddenly reacted with the scent in the air; he quickly repositioned himself to a defensive stance, sitting with his arms around his legs. "U-Ugh..."

"Not feeling relaxed anymore?" It was May's turn to grin in victory, not fully aware of her rival's discomfort. "Ooh, how cute! Is_ my_ hotness too much for you?"

"...I'm just being nice with you before you start freaking out again." Drew imagined what would happen in a bad scenario then felt his face flush hard; he cursed under his breath, blaming his hormones. "You have no idea how nice I'm being with you..."

Both of them were now breathing heavily and losing their strenghts to keep this challenge up; however, no one wanted to give it up now. It had already gone too far from their control and it would definitely hurt too much the loser's pride!

Drew started to show some weakness... _Was she part of his weakness?_ For the first time May realized that, maybe, she had more power to confront him than she imagined.

"Strawberry?..." Feeling the sweet aroma coming from her fresh breath, the boy tried to change the subject, struggling hard to not sound too nervous. "Uh, is that strawberry candy?"

"You wanna taste it?" May playfully threw a bait into their resistance challenge, speaking in a cute innocent voice. "It's so good... Too bad it was the last one, are you sure you still want to taste it?"

"Ugh..." The girl was so determinated to win she actually didn't notice Drew's nervous gasping sound. Even though they were in the dark, it was painfully obvious that whatever he thought about her comment, it made him reticent and embarrassed.

"I-I don't know... I mean..." The boy turned his head to the side, breaking their eye contact fight. "_Maybe_?"

He regretted not changing his clothes earlier when his rival offered him the chance; that was a trap with no escape.

But this was the first time he wasn't the one outside the cage.

And more than just that... _What? Did he really ask for a k-_

"I guess you don't like being proved wrong." The brunette winked to her rival. "Gotcha."

Smiling deviously, the coordinator girl grinned, feeling on the top of the world. It was so indulging watching her rival finally under her control! "Alright, game over! The winner is-"

He was mildly disappointed at first when their candy discussion got derailed; however, the boy quickly forget about this to interrupt his rival's announcement. "I... You didn't win this yet. I still right about what I've said, I know you can't advance. This game is too much for you."

May's grin disappeared from her face.

"Hahaha... Haha, in your dreams! I know you're trying to trick me." The brunette refused to lose this battle - she was too close from victory to give it up now! "I'm winning this, Drew. Accept it!"

"Hm, that's not good enough, you know? That's unfair!" He pointed at his waist, running out of good arguments. "If we were in the same position you would definitely not pretend to be on the top."

"You think so? Why can't you stop being so stubborn-" May grabbed Drew's hand and placed it on the zipper on her neck. "Do it if you are so sure about that! Drew, give it up!"

Drew blinked his eyes in surprise, completely puzzled about what had just happened in that closet.

Staring at her burning eyes and being really concerned about holding his towel still and not moving down the other hand touching the zipper of her blue top, Drew slowly interrupted the tension moment. "If... If the door could be unlocked somehow and this teasing battle were only an hypothetical mind game... I mean,_ it is really just a mind trick game_, but... What if we... If we kept going on, _what would happen_? Would you surrender or would we..."

May blinked.

"Are you aware I'm a guy? Do you have any doubts of what I would do right now?"

Both looked down at her chest. The girl blushed, watching his hand resting on the zipper. "Oh... I would stop it, of course. Well, I would have stopped way before-"

"Okay, then I am winner! Challenge lost, now let's end it."

Getting up from the floor, the boy kicked the lower corner of the door, tapping it twice; it opened itself in a loud snap. "Oh, what a surprise... I think the door works just fine now!"

"Wh-"

"Excuse me, I forgot to wash my hair..." The green-haired boy grabbed some clothes and ran away, leaving May alone in his room.

Feeling the cold breeze from the window, the brunette had the impression she had just left an intense battle between Deoxys, Rayquaza and every single legendary Pokemon altogether. Her head suddenly got dizzy and heavier.

Extremely heavier.

"What... What... What..."

* * *

><p>Roserade absorbed the last nutrients needed to start producing new flowers through her special powers. Detaching the roots off the ground, she elegantly cleaned herself dusting the soil away from her little body.<p>

She entered the house and checked the clock; where was everybody? She had just seen May some minutes ago and Drew said he would take a bath and help her with the roses as soon as he finished it!

The flower Pokemon decided to see what the humans were doing and got confused when she saw the brunette teenager collapsed on the floor in a fetal position, with her face buried in her bag, and her stubborn master locked in the bathroom, still under the shower.

"Rose?..."

* * *

><p>AN: May won? :P

I don't have anything to comment about this chapter at all, besides the fact I am sure May can compete against Drew equally when she wants to. She might be clumsy and insecure sometimes... But boy, she does know how to fight when she wants to, lol. Isn't that the power of attraction... And, above everything, _*the power of being stubborn*_ xDDD

Thanks for the lovely company, comments (I love how you guys also write your comments about the CS pairing - regardless it is connected or not to this story. I really do!), favorites and alert requests.

Sorry about the following announcement but~ I will be busy for the whole week - so expect a slower update in the next few days xD See you all (not so) soon!

About next chapter: It's time to practice, Appeals Exhibition day is almost there! More cameos, more confusion!


	10. Chapter 10: The petals

**Welcome Home ch10: The petals**

"Yeah, I think I can teach Absol that move until the end of day. Or should we try that other plan instead?"

After running the weirdest contest of their lives inside a tiny closet, May and Drew barely exchanged words about anything else besides the Appeals Exhibition plans.

"I kind of like your idea of using my ice pokemon to create some storm and combine it with Absol's Aerial Ace. I think we can create some nice visual effects... If we master both attacks for the show. Can we do it until tomorrow?"

They suddenly became very dedicated in planning strategies for the Appeals Exhibition and testing different fighting techniques - as if both coordinators remembered they were in LaRousse for the CW, not for... _Bickering sessions at Drew's house_.

"I am going to the Pokemon Center call Mom and get Glaceon back..."

However, it was painfully obvious both were very embarrassed about what happened earlier in that day. That itching issue kept burning into their skin - those strange feelings kept popping up during random thoughts.

"Sure, you can go ahead..." The green-haired boy kept staring at the walls, quietly. "I catch up with you later."

Drew was mildly perturbed. Because of his awkward "accident" with May, he couldn't stop thinking how close they were to each other without any reason at all. The boy had planned to lock themselves in the closet for the sake of fun - but he didn't expect that prank would incite some of his strangest feelings.

Yes, it was quite an accomplishment to make a pretty and quite innocent girl play such malicious game. Yes, that whole tension tango was an interesting fetish fuel for the rest of his life... But no, he wasn't feeling accomplished neither satisfied about that. That was, weirdly enough, quite frustrating.

May would always display her happiness with enthusiasm and strong spirit, though he knew she also had a shy feminine and affectionate side hiding behind her fiery personality. It was something he had seen with close people - Max, Ash and all those friends she made during her journey... But himself.

_Where was that other May?... Why did she always refuse to show up for him?_

For the first time, the green-haired teenager wished he could let May caress his hair without pretending to be asleep... Perhaps it wouldn't hurt that much being embarrassed when teased about his stalking and crushing rumours - wouldn't that be worth if May got even more embarrassed and troubled to deny any attraction between them? He considered that maybe it would be fine to let her win, only once, some silly discussion just to hear her soft and loving side laugh. But...

Why should he do that! Even if he tried to give it a chance what if she refused to open herself to him anyway? That would be humiliating... His mild curiosity shouldn't be a reason to act like a silly boy and let people laugh at him for nothing!

Drew sighed, slightly confused._ Forget it or go for it?_

He hated to admit - but all of this confusing issue was really hard to forget about.

* * *

><p>Inside the Pokemon Center, May dialed to Petalburg city's gym and was immediately received by her younger brother in the video conference screen. Max smiled in excitement, happy to see his sister. "May!"<p>

"Max! Good to see you!"

"How are you? How is it going there in LaRousse?"

"I'm doing great! LaRousse is awesome, CW is also incredible!" The brunette giggled. "I got loads of papers and other interesting stuff for you, I think you will enjoy reading them later!"

"Wow... Thanks, sis'! You didn't need to do, thank you a lot!"

"It's alright... Max, is Dad there? I need to get Glaceon back for some training, I'm going to present a Tag Appeal! I'm here with Venusaur's pokeball so we can trade them."

"Oh, Dad? Don't worry, I think I can do it myself! I'm learning how to help him here at the gym." Max put a hand on his chest, in a proud and dedicated manner. "I feel so important, taking care of Pokemon is so cool!"

"Haha, yeah! But..." May tilted her head to the side, slightly suspicious. "Are you sure it is fine to do it without asking Dad first?"

"Well..." The little boy snickered, fixing his glasses on his nose. "Sure, I can call Mom if you want. Poor Dad is at home having an overprotective father's delirium... I think Mom have just told him that you're there in grasshead's house. He's sulking harder than Brock used to... Did you know he was that possessive?"

"What!" The brunette blushed, furiously. "Drew's only my rival and partner, nothing else! Why would he-"

"He only knows that Drew is a mysterious name that you are always complaining about, maybe he's afraid of losing you and- Oh, wait a second. Mom!" Max shouted off-screen, holding the phone in his hands. "May's here!"

The young mother quickly appeared behind her son. "May is here?"

"Ah, hello sweetheart!" Caroline smiled at the screen. "How are you, darling?"

"I'm good! Could you help Max trading Glaceon with Venusaur? I'm going to present a Tag Appeal tomorrow in CW!"

"Oh, that sounds so exciting!" Caroline then pointed at something off-screen. "Max, could you please get Glaceon's pokeball and turn on the trading device?"

"Sure, Mom! Be right back, okay?"

The little boy jumped off the chair and ran away to the other room. Meanwhile, the slim woman sat on said chair and started chatting with her daughter. "Tell me the news, are you enjoying the CW? What is this Tag Appeal you're talking about?"

"Yeah, CW is really amazing! Today I saw how the Contests are different in other continents and..." Unconsciously remembering scenes from the closet fiasco, May felt her ears burning; she tried to keep talking as calm as possible. "Ahahahah, yeah! It's very interesting and fun, thank you and Dad for buying me the pass! I'm trying to enjoy it the best I can!"

"About the Tag Appeal..." The girl picked up the red CW passport from her bag and tried to show it closer to the camera. "See, Drew signed us up for this Appeals Exhibition event. We gotta present something really good for the audience next two days!"

"Good, good... I hope you two do your best!" Caroline smiled then slowly shifted her calm expression into a mischievous grin. "And talking about Drew... How are you two doing there in his house? Are you helping him with daily housework? Cleaning, cooking, buying stuff?"

"Uhh..." The young brunette tried to not sound too panicked, though she did sound a little bit nervous. "Ehehehe, sorta? To be honest he rather keep me out the kitchen and I am quite out of money..."

"Wait, how come you're out of money-" Her mother blinked in surprise but quickly changed her expression after figuring out what had happened. Looking at May with shifty eyes, the woman asked the only detail she was missing. "Oh. I think I've got it... So what did you buy? Why did you buy it?"

"Eh..." The daughter scratched the back of her head, smiling sheepishly. "I didn't buy anything. I only... Rented something. That's all."

"I rented a dress for our Tag Appeal!" The girl blurted out the truth, frightened by the censoring stare coming from the other side of the screen. "It wasn't that expensive but I had to do it anyway! I mean, sorta. I feel that I should present an awesome show with Glaceon but I don't know, I wanted to look pretty for-"

"Drew? That's cute."

"Yes, also for-" Noticing her own words, May snapped angrily at the camera. "NO! Not that, Mom! It's for the audience, not for Drew!"

Caroline snickered not so discreetly, making her daughter protest again. "Mom!"

"There's nothing wrong about looking pretty for a boy, being him your boyfriend or not... If he likes your dress, I think it's fine then." The caring mother shrugged. "Okay, sweetie. Let's do this, I won't send you money but you can use that extra cash I gave you to come back to Petalburg. Deal?"

May blinked. "But how I am going to travel back to home?"

"The trading machine is on and Glaceon is here!" Max popped up in the corner of the screen, shaking his arms to grab his mother and sister's attention. "We're ready to trade."

May put her pokeball in the trade machine and saw it glow weakly while exchanging its content. The display showed small icons of Glaceon being swapped for Venusaur.

"Good job, that was fast!" Caroline gave a thumbs up to the smart boy. "By the way... Max, would you like to come with me for a quick boat trip in the next few days?"

"Really?" The little boy's eyes got brighter. "We're going to make a short trip? That's awesome, yay!"

May blinked again. Max ran around the room, shouting happily. "Yaaaay, we are going to travel!"

"You're coming to get me here in LaRousse?"

"Well, your father need to go Slateport and deliver few HMs to Winona in Fortree city but he's been a bit busy writing Gym report documents for the League. Dad's at home right now but he will come to the gym in an hour." Caroline winked. "I think I can be Supermom and do this small favor for him, instead of getting tickets for Lilycover I can see if there are ships for LaRousse."

"Oh, I see... And hey! Maaaax, you twerp!" May blushed and pointed a finger at her brother. "Dad's at home because he's busy with his work, not because of... You know!"

Caroline tilted her head to the side exactly the way her daughter always did, slightly curious and confused. "Huh?"

"Drew." Max tried to stiff a laugh. "Hehe. I told her how Dad got all depressive and stuff."

"T-That's not fun!" The two in Petalburg cracked up laughing out loud, making the brunette girl blush harder and yell at her family. "Mom!... Max! Ahh, stop it!"

"Have fun, darling! Hahaha, I hope you two nail it perfectly! Oh, talking about that, I don't want to catch you later and see that you lovebirds transformed the house into a Daycare Center. Control your impulses, will you?"

"Daycare center?..." The brunette faced the screen with a blank stare. "What do you mean with that?"

"Mom!" Max blocked his mother out the video screen, shocked expression. "That's not the moment for that! She's too young to hear about these stuff!"

"Did anyone mention my name?"

"Bye Mom, bye Max! Thanks a lot, see you two later!" Hearing Drew's voice behind her back, May immediately ended the video call placing the phone back to its case. "Nope, they didn't!"

The boy suspiciously raised his eyebrow. His partner shrugged and she showed him the new pokeball in her hands. "See, I've got Glaceon back!"

"Good, let's start practicing." Drew flicked his hair, getting his ID card from his pocket. "I think if we're lucky enough, we still got time to catch a room in the Battle Tower."

* * *

><p>The Battle Tower was the tallest building in LaRousse, being one of the most important places of the city. May remembered the day Ash and Tory battled together in a modern and big arena then wondered about the other rooms - were they going to take a whole stage just for them?<p>

She silently watched many trainers walking around the corridors while Drew inserted his ID card into a small white PC.

"Hmm, I think we got only half hour in room 64-A." The green haired boy pointed at the computer screen, blinking dozen of alert messages. "Other facilities are either busy or reserved... Well, let's go."

"I never thought how the Battle Tower could be that interesting for coordinators." Following her partner' steps, May commented in a very curious and interested tone. "Is it common to see non-trainers using it for themselves?"

"Well, not really," Drew spoke to his partner while walking ahead of her. "People come to this town with their minds focused on battling... But I like to use the Battle Tower's hi-tech equipment for Contest practicing."

Using his ID card to open the door, Drew politely waited May enter the room first.

It wasn't like that arena from few years ago; their room was much simpler and smaller, but big enough for their experiments. All the advanced devices from the bigger stage were available there anyway; they automatically started working at the moment May crossed the door.

Feeling excited by the cameras displaying her contagious smile on the panel screens, the brunette girl dramatically jumped to the center of the spotlight, casting the new pokeball out of her belt.

"Glaceon, take the stage!"

The blue fox pokemon appeared in front of its master, delicately sitting on the floor with a majestic pose.

Drew didn't make any exquisite entrance to the stage - he just walked next to the spotlight and called Absol out the pokeball.

"Try doing that again with your red dress." Drew chuckled, making May blush in crimson colors.

"Hmpf..." The girl frowned, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I'll pretend I didn't listen to you... Anyway, check this out. Glaceon, Blizzard!"

The ice pokemon gracefully jumped in the air, creating a blue cold aura around its paws. Glaceon eyes became clearer and it gently blew a icy breath to the stage; reaching the floor, ice shards erupted from that puff, exploding into a large wall made of ice.

The two trainers watched the spiky ice sculpture shimmer and melt slowly under the stage spotlight.

"That's impr- interesting," Drew muttered with attentive eyes. "When did Glaceon learn this high-tier attack?"

"Tadaaah!" May exclaimed in a proud way. "My newest ace card in my Appeals with Glaceon! How do you like it?"

"Very... Rustic." The green-haired coordinator declared, paying attention to the details in the cold sculpture. "It's beautiful but not perfectly elegant. Like always, your partner is great but you fail at ordering the right tasks. It could be more natural..."

"Ehhh, what?" The brunette crossed her arms, surprised with such rigorous critique. "It's natural! What did you expect me to do?"

"How about mixing it with Hail attack?" Drew raised a finger. "Blizzard is a very hard technique and you can see that Glaceon is not fully confident about this attack, did you notice the lowered ears? This is clearly... Not mastered yet. You're clearly not sure about what this attack does either. Were you trying to impress me with blind shots?"

"Uh..." May pouted, feeling her cheeks blush a bit. "That's what make it cooler, there's a risk on Glaceon's appeal."

"Oh well, that's the Ash Ketchum's philosophical school of training, right?" Drew sarcastically noted, crossing his arms to stare at his coordinator partner. "It may work, it might fail..."

"Hey, I'm not like Ash!" May disagreed, putting her hands on her hips. "I-I I mean, he was my mentor once and I do admire him a lot but... You know, I'm not trying to be like him anymore. The one you see in the contests... That's how I am for real!"

Crouching by Glaceon's side, May put a hand on its back and stared at her rival with fiery eyes. "I trust Glaceon's skills and I'll do my best to make them shine on stage!"

"Hey, I'm only teasing." Drew grinned, flicking his hair in a cool move. "I know you're naturally wild and clumsy like a Vigoroth, nobody taught you that. But if you want to impress to judges..."

"Absol." The green-haired trainer stepped forward, pointing a finger at the ice wall. "Swords Dance, now."

The dark-type pokemon roared, moving the sickle on its head in a hypnotic dance. It started to glow in a purple aura, highlighting the sharp blade. Absol focused his obedient gaze at the Blizzard wall in front of the coordinators.

Drew flicked his hair once more then ordered the next attack with an elegant hand wave.

"Night Slash."

Purple sparks slowly changed to deep crimson tones. Absol jumped in the air then moved his head in a violent movement, creating dark sharp blades that collided with the ice sculpture. They hit right at Glaceon's attack but didn't make any loud sounds; suddenly, a subtle slash mark appeared crossing the ice shards and broke up the ice wall in two.

The brunette opened her mouth but didn't say a word, quite impressed with Drew's precise movement.

"Your turn?" The green-haired trainer smiled in vain, confident about his performance. "Critique everything you can. I dare you to."

"Hmm..."

May crossed her arms. She walked closer and examined the impeccable slash that cut the Blizzard wall in two. "Wow. That's pretty scary, Drew."

"I know."

"It's perfect. Absol's movement and appeal are awesome. I really like this, that's incredible but... Uh, we're not doing it right..." The girl frowned, slightly worried. "That's two individual awesome Appeals. Not a Tag Appeal, we didn't work together at all... That's bad."

"Huh?" Drew's confident grin faded out in surprise. "Bad?"

* * *

><p>"Our time is out and I can't believe we couldn't think of anything great yet..." May pressed her hands on her head in worry, terrified about their deadline. "We are not exactly working together, not yet."<p>

The two coordinators were traveling back to home in an empty train, voices echoing in the silent corridor.

"We could simply present what we tried to practice today. We just need to entertain the crowd this time, you know." Drew shrugged. "I'm not worried about winning the judges. We don't have judges or score boards this time, I only want to impress our crowd. Glaceon is okay, Absol is just fine."

"So..." Drew looked at May, speaking with confidence. "I'll do my best, you will do your best... That's enough to make a great appeal. Are you still not sure about it?"

She quietly thought about Drew's opinion, unsure if she fully agreed with him or not. "I think I understand your point and I agree it looks good, but..."

"I... I thought we both were able to work together in a finger snap." May frowned, slightly disappointed. "I don't know, I understand that syncing appeals are hard stuff to do in such short deadline but I thought_ we could do it_. For a long time I always wondered how would be if we worked together on stage, now that I've got a chance and sort of failed it... Yeah, it blows. Maybe that's why I am a bit frustrated, I don't know..."

The train arrived at their stop.

The boy watched his partner with curious eyes, feeling his chest warmer by thinking about her last words inside the train. Although she was really distracted by the Block Bots and the automatic streets, it didn't take much time to May notice she was being carefully watched. "Hm? What is it, Drew?"

"Are you still planning going to Sinnoh when the Contests season arrive in a few weeks?"

"Yeah, maybe..." The brunette tilted her head to the side. "You guys are going to compete there, right?"

"You can travel with us again, so this time we can plan carefully one great Tag Appeal..." The boy looked up to the sky pretending to be checking the clouds. "Then I promise we will register together in a Double Contest once and score a ribbon. It will be perfect. Does it sound good for you?"

"Oh." May blinked in surprise. "Well..."

Laughing sweetly, she smiled. "Of course it does. Thanks, Drew."

"Ah-"

Drew's insides abruptly got wracked with some strong sensation. He tried to open his mouth and provoke his rival - but he couldn't find anything to say.

Maybe it was better to not say anything this time.

* * *

><p>Arriving at home, May happily took her shoes and her socks away, humming a song together with Roserade.<p>

"Roserade is good at singing!" The coordinator girl patted on the white petals on Roserade's head. "She would be a great pokemon for those Musical contests in Unova!"

"You meant... Roserade is good at _everything_." The green-haired partner answered as a matter of fact, taking off his shoes as well and putting them next to May's shoes. "By the way, you want to see the flower miracle?"

"The roses?" May raised her eyebrows in curiosity then looked back to the flower pokemon. It smiled with a high-spirited animation, pulling the trainer with her red bouquet hand.

Girl and pokemon walked out the house, watching the day fade out. The lamp posts were already lit and moon was shining with a pale light, though it was still possible to see the last streaks of sunshine on the horizon.

Roserade felt the soil with its hands, trying to find the best spot to lay her roots. The young coordinator sat on the ground, watching the plant pokemon choose her ideal place carefully.

Drew stood by the door holding a small blue sack and quickly glanced over May; the brunette girl was cooing softly, hugging her legs and admiring his pokemon. "Awww... Isn't it so cute?"

"I told you Roserade is good at everything." The green-haired boy grinned. Pointing a finger at some bushes nearby his neighbour's house, he opened his PokeNav and added. "See the flowers? Those are usually raised by Corsola, some of them got Natural Cure as well. But their connection to roses are not as intimate and deep as Roserade's... Now guess whose garden is the best in this street."

Drew pressed the Pokédex button, activating the entry about the coral pokemon. "_Habitat: Corsola live in the warm shallow waters of southern seas. Their environment needs to have plenty of clear water in order to thrive. Corsola are known to have great regenerative powers. Unlike real coral, which can take years to grow, if any of their horns are broken, it can grow back in as little as a single night. However, in order for this to function properly, they need clean ocean water. They cannot survive in polluted water._"

"Ohh, I see! That's interesting, huh." May came closer to her rival, watching his PokeNav screen display a small Corsola picture. "They've got the same power as Roserade, right? And since LaRousse is a... an... estu-_estuary_, right? Since it's a good place for sea pokemon, it's easy to find wild Corsola?"

"Exactly." The boy nodded, smirking. "Good to know that even though you were an awful student in the past, my amazing knowledge helps you understand important stuff about the world. I must be a really good teacher, May."

"Meh..." Sticking her tongue out, she groaned. "I hate how your few praising moments sound like an awful kick to the face."

"Rose!"

Roserade waved to Drew, digging small holes in the grass with its feet. The trainer opened the small sack on his hand, picking up seeds and handing them to his pokemon. Roserade gently covered them with soil and sat over them, closing its eyes in a peaceful expression. The tiny pokemon started to glow weakly and small roots started to sprout from its delicate body.

"Wow," the brunette whispered. "This is amazing..."

"I know it, right?" The boy smiled to Roserade, admiring his pokemon. "That's why roses are my favorites..."

"Oh yeah, you're the Mr Rose after all..." May smiled as well - but in a teasing and goofy way. "That's why you love to gift them to my pokemon?"

"Maybe..." Drew's soft smile suddenly turned into a sly grin. "Roses are beautiful and they are best matched with beautiful things. That's why only the pokemon, not their trainer, are gifted with them."

"W-WHAT?" The brunette blushed. "DREWWWW!"

"What can I do, you don't deserve these yet... Not my fault your pokemon are better than- Hey, what's that face?"

All of sudden, something clicked inside May's mind.

"Drew, I've got an idea."

"Huh? What idea?..."

* * *

><p>Pulling her partner by his arm, she ran to the pier with strong determination in her eyes.<p>

"Listen to my idea... Ice petal storm!"

The brunette waved her hands with excitement, big blue eyes shining in anxiety.

Drew raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Ice... Petal storm?"

"Glaceon, Hail attack!" May jumped in the air and threw the pokeball, pointing at the water. "Now, go for it!"

Glaceon spun curled up in a ball then stretched out its small body, howling with vitality. The ice pokemon eyes got bright and it started to emit a cold fog from its body, making May's energetic shout form little smoke puffs of heat. "Blizzard, now! Go, Drew! Make it pretty like the roses!"

Drew quickly synced with May's movement, calling Absol out of his ball. "Absol, go! Night Slash, Ice Petals now!"

Absol copied Glaceon's movement, howling its name out loud to the sky. Aiming at the cold breath veil, it dealt multiple blows to the ice beam, shattering it in very small fragments.

Small shards of ice shaped like petal roses started falling form the sky, slowly dissolving on the grass and on the river's shore - making small ripples in the water.

Drew's eyes got wide open.

"It's... Really beautiful."

The two coordinators watched the ice petals fall slowly in front of them. May giggled, dancing under the cold rain; Drew just kept watching it with perplexed eyes.

"Sooo... You still doubt on my instinctive way of training and creating Appeals? You see, _THAT'_s teamwork!" The coordinator girl smiled smugly, watching her new creation with proud feelings. "Okay, I don't feel bad anymore. That's fairly okay for the Princess of Hoenn! What do you think, Prince of Roses? Do I deserve them now?"

A small ice petal fell on May's cheek. She was about to poke it out her face when she felt a warm hand removing it for her.

Then it caressed her cheek in a tender gesture.

"Uhh..." The brunette blushed, feeling embarrassed by such gentle touch. "Drew?"

Drew held his breath. "May, I..."

_Ring ring ring, ring ring ring! Phone Call! Phone Call!_

The awkward moment was suddenly interrupted by a (even more awkward) PokeNav call alarm. May could have ignored it but something unusual about this situation suffocated her, cutting off her breath; she quickly answered the phone, turning her face away from her rival.

"Ugh..." Drew turned his back to the girl, snapping out from his weird and uncalled slip.

They both returned to the house, dodging confused glances and walking in slow and clumsy steps. Still taking care of the seeds, Roserade watched in surprise both trainers get extremely embarrassed at each other's presence. The flower pokemon then looked at Absol and Glaceon - the dark pokemon snorted but pretended it didn't see anything, May's ice partner wiggled its head playfully. It made the flower creature smile and giggle together with the two other pokemon.

"Oh... Yes. Yes, sure... Yeah, I guess." The brunette nodded. "Hmm... I think I've got their numbers, you want Sid and Brianna to join us then? Sure, why not? Uh, gimme a second, he's here by my side, I can ask him that."

"Drew..." May turned her eyes back to Drew, with a sincere apologizing expression on her face. "Harley is calling everybody to dinner at the Pokemon Center... Shall we go?"

"Harley..." Drew crossed his arms, rubbing his temple with one hand for a couple of seconds.

"Uh. If you wish so, yeah, it's up to you..."

* * *

><p>AN: Hi! Sorry for being afk for so long xD irl stuff, haha~ I'm really thankful for those who read the story/reviewed it while I was away, makes me happy to know that people enjoy it even though it still incomplete. I'll do my best to update the rest of the story asap :)

Wow, this chapter got so big. Hahaha, I like writing pokemon battles and techniques even though I'm not that good describing those...

And I totally think LaRousse is the prettiest city in Hoenn. You know, some stuff about its environment I inserted in this story thinking "hey, it would be cool if we could find x pokemon there" but come to think of it, funny enough they are actually all fairly plausible judging the climate/geography/advanced green culture. I wish we could have more places like this irl, kinda utopic but still, hope one day technology can work together with nature :( /rants

Egh Pokemon Anime has never featured any TM or HM being used on screen... Do they exist at all in that universe? I took some liberty to create my own version of how it would look like in the anime - it's a mix of the games, the TCG and the Dengeki! Pikachu manga's version. So far the anime only presents the idea you can only learn a move inheriting it or practicing it... Personally, I like to think 1) TM do exist but they're rare; 2) trainers can ask for HM to Gym Leaders if they want to, but these are usually skills many pokemon know naturally so it is usually ignored (e.g. Pidgey can fly, Wailord can swim; but then Nidoking may surf if you help him with a HM); 3) Using the machine, pokemon don't learn the skill automatically - the input info helps it understand how to start the technique... (lol Enough theorycraft! xD Let's move on...)

Uh, lol. I think the ringringring thing is an awful and corny ringtone, I have no idea why pokemon characters like it so much hahaha xD

Btw, few days ago I messed up the uploaded files and accidentally edited ch1 into some drafts of another future story, lol! I corrected it now but... For those who saw it by mistake... Yep, it's a AU semi-apocalyptical story featuring Ash and Drew as main characters. /that's all I can tell you for now P: . Also, if you are interested in AU based in our world, try _When Drew met May_ - my new story in this website. It's heavily dialogue-based and will feature other characters from the anime, don't be turned off by that M-rating xD

Next chapter: Dinner time? And some unusual proposal... Stay tuned!


	11. Chapter 11: The confession

**Welcome Home ch11: The confession**

May ended the phone call and put her PokeNav inside her purse. Sitting on the stairs, she took off her shoes and saw a grumpy Drew sitting on the sofa trying to distract himself with some news on TV.

"Anything good on TV?" She walked closer to he rival. "Hey, everybody is going to dinner with us tonight, isn't it great?"

The announcer on the screen was talking about the winner of Sinnoh League, displaying a picture of a mysterious young man called Tobias and his Darkrai, holding the Lily of the Valley Conference Trophy.

"Is this guy the new winner?" May watched the trainer hold the champion trophy in a serene yet intimidating way. "Aww... I think Ash didn't get it this time."

"How does Harley know who is Sid?" The boy changed the topic, trying to sound as uninterested as possible. "He wanted you to invite that guy as well, didn't he?"

Jumping to different channels again. A replay of The Electabuzz team scoring a Home Run in their game against their greatest rivals, The Starmies.

"Uhh..." May tapped her index finger on her lips, trying to recall the episode. "I think I might have mentioned Sid's name when I met Harley earlier today in CW... Oh! Yeah, we definitely talked about this! I told Harley we randomly met Sid in the morning and how you two promised each other to have a pokemon battle. Why?"

The teenagers spotted a fast fluffy and pink pokemon jumping into the top of the TV; Skitty yawned cutely and curled its body into a ball, its tail hanging out right in front of the screen.

"Hehehe... Sorry, felines love to explore new warm places to take a nap." The coordinator girl grinned then put her arms around her legs. "Well, you didn't answer my question yet. You've got any problems with Sid?"

"No..." Drew sighed, zapping through more random channels. "Eh, I was just wondering. It's nothing, really."

"You don't want to go?"

The brunette waited for an answer, watching her partner rub his hands and think twice before saying anything. Drew yawned in a tired way, turning off the TV.

"Whatever, it's up to you..."

He walked away to the kitchen.

May frowned, hugging her purse close to her chest. Picking up her PokeNav once again, she stared at Brianna and Sid's contact profile on the agenda screen for a second - then dialed to another number. "So it's up to me..."

"Hello, Harley? It's May again..." The girl took off her blue bandanna then scratched the back of her head. "I was about to call Brianna and Sid but... Look, can we try going out together another time?"

The green-haired coordinator watched the water boil in the tea kettle, trying to calm himself down. If Solidad ever saw him altered like that, she would probably notice his subtle change of heart - and that was for sure the worst way to end his troubled day.

Not longer than five minutes later, May joined his meditation by standing by his side, clasping her hands together. Drew frowned, feeling like that was some uncalled mocking. "What is it now?"

"Okay, I've got it. We're not going..." The girl shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I canceled it. We can go out and eat together with everybody tomorrow, we could meet them at the Convention Center after our CW activities. Then after lunch we can practice more... Besides, you don't need to go if you don't want to. Works better this way, right?"

"Huh?" Drew raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised. "You didn't need to do that..."

"But..." May confessed, putting her hands on her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I should have noticed you were exhausted. I got so excited about dinner that I totally forgot how hard were our training sections today... You know, now that I called Harley I feel my body so heavy that I could sleep on the floor right now! I'm really tired."

The boy stared at his partner with some speechless expression on his face.

"Such an airhead."

"What?" May's ears burned in annoyance. "What was that for? H-hey!"

Drew smirked - then grinned, a little bit more softly than usual. "Feh."

"Why do you have to be so defensive and mean when I'm just trying to be nice?" The coordinator girl pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "We are _partners_ this time, not rivals..."

Partners, not rivals. Not rivals, something else. Something else...

The green-haired teen rubbed his fingers on his temples; he was worn out, confused and mildly upset. CW, closet nightmare, Appeal show, some real weird feelings, May, May again, May again and again. That was a horribly long day... Some tranquil night of rest would be more than welcome.

"Whatever. Do you have any problems with vegetables or something?"

"Uh, sorry?" The brunette squinted, clearly confused by such unusual question. "Why?"

"You're right, I don't need to know your answer. I'll make some fast and easy dinner anyway." The boy ignored his partner's answer; he put his apron on and started washing his hands. "You're hungry like Munchlax, you eat anything people offer you."

May opened her mouth to complain but she held herself before start arguing.

Her desire to laugh suddenly got stronger than her rage; she just pointed at the dark apron - and Drew knew exactly what she meant with that gesture.

"Yes, it is pink now. Yes, it was _your_ fault." His glare suddenly got sharper. "Yes, I know you want to say how girly it is but you're going to shut up or I won't cook for you. Any questions?"

"Yes, sir!" The girl smiled sheepishly, slightly scared of Drew's severe stare. "I didn't say a word... Well, do you need any help?"

"Nope, I've got a better helper than you. You're going to kill yourself if I ask you to cut the carrots..." Opening one of the windows, he called for his most loyal pokemon. "Roserade, are you there? Roserade..."

"Hey, Drew..."

"Yes?" The boy didn't look back, still searching for his flower sidekick.

"Thanks." May smiled, sitting on the table and moving her legs in a playful way. "Yeah... Just that. Thank you. Sure you don't want some help?"

"Nope." Drew coughed, refusing to turn his head around and face his rival. "I'm fine."

"Okay..." She started singing quietly, watching him save and prepare the ingredients.

Roserade suddenly appeared on the window in front of Drew, waving its arms gracefully. The coordinator raised an eyebrow and the flower pokemon started giggling.

"How did you climb it?" He stretched his neck a bit and noticed his pokemon was on the top of Glaceon and Absol, both giving knowing glances to the human.

The green-haired boy teenager blushed, giving a death glare to the trio. "Oh sheesh. Shut up!..."

"Huh?" May stopped singing, tilting her head to the side. "Did you say something?"

* * *

><p>"I hate to admit but... You're really good!"<p>

May stared at the empty plates in the table, feeling her stomach full and satisfied.

Drew grinned in a devilish way, feeling his ego flooding his words as usual. "I know."

"So modest..." The girl rolled her eyes out then started piling up the glasses and the dishes. "Don't worry, I got this."

"You can leave it there and finish this tomorrow..." The boy yawned, feeling each minute heavier and heavier. "It's okay, don't worry about this now."

"Are you sure?" May stopped right in front of the sink. "Really?"

"Yeah. You better rest now."

The girl smiled.

"Hm?" Her partner stopped talking. "What's wrong?"

She mumbled some quiet words thoughtfully then merely shook her head. Drew crossed his arms, sheer curiosity shining in his eyes.

"You know..." The brunette giggled, putting the dishes in the sink then resting her hands on the table. "I used to think you were so arrogant, uncaring and self-centered! I mean, I still think you're a bit cold, stubborn, mean... But you've got softer. Even when we traveled together in Johto I didn't know you could be so nice... So, I was thinking-"

"-But I'm not _nice_." The boy quickly added his opinion with emphasis on 'nice', walking away to the door. He frowned, feeling mildly embarrassed. "Neither soft. Soft? I would never describe myself as someone 'soft', actually. That's stupid."

"I-I didn't mean it in a_ bad_ way way, c'mon! You don't need to play the tough guy all the time." The brunette put her hands on her hips and inflated her cheeks in a childish manner. "This is good criticism, listen to me!"

"Then tell me why should I be softer." Drew smirked, flicking the tip of his hair. "Why do you want _me_ to be softer with _you_?"

The young coordinator gasped, feeling cornered by her rival's question. She took a long breath, quite thankful for being separated from Drew by a thick wall - or else he would definitely tease about her panicked face. "I-It's because... I can be nicer with you if you are nicer with me?"

"Hmm..." His voice sounded strange for a second but quickly went back to the usual skeptical tone. "Then you're implying you're usually not nice, huh?"

"Drew! Hmpf... Anyway, it's _your_ loss." The girl pouted. "Gee, I wish you were more like Ash, he's is not paranoid about hiding his feelings. Ash is nice and he's not afraid of showing that he likes someone. He doesn't care about what other people may think about it! Didn't you notice how happy I used to be when we traveled together in Kanto and Hoenn?"

"Oh, _really_. You're telling me he actually cares about you and he's nicer than me." Drew left the kitchen, refusing to discuss about the spiky-haired trainer with May. He stopped midway the staircase, feeling that something about May's last line poked his heart in some uncomfortable way.

"Yes, really!" The coordinator girl replied, laughing sweetly. "He is. See? You know how to be nice too but the point is-"

"Then I_ can't believe you're that blind!_"

Drew's harsh voice echoed from the stairs like a freezing arrow, hitting May's chest in a full blow.

May blinked.

_Blind? Wait, what did he say?_

She blinked again, still shocked by the unexpected comment. Her guts wrenched in disappointment and confusion, unsure how to react to that statement.

Stomping to his bedroom, Drew grabbed one pillow from his bed and threw it on the floor. Drowning his face into the pillow, he just lay down on the floor without bothering about putting his pajamas on, taking a bath or brushing his teeth.

The brunette fidgeted with her fingers, feeling anxious to try fixing up their awkward discussion but afraid of getting shunned. That radical mood swing... Being so angry and violent was so unlikely him - yet this was not the first time Drew snapped and scared her. May was offended and his reaction behavior was definitely wrong - however, she felt he had been hurt too and it was all her fault.

Did he misunderstand her words about opening himself up to her? Most likely. Was her example interpreted as some uncaring comparison, as if she had told him he was not nice neither caring? Oh...

"Drew..." The girl stopped by the bed, sad expression in her sapphire eyes looking at the boy resting on the floor.

She considered telling him many things but seeing how both of them were incredibly tired, she whispered only the most important words from her reflexive moment.

"I didn't mean to offend you. I'm sorry."

Without moving his head to look at her, he just answered the apology in a bitter voice. "Good night."

May sighed.

Little did she know that it was something else that triggered Drew's unpredictable reaction.

* * *

><p>May woke up in the next day with her cellphone alarm beeping in her ears. She shut it down slowly like a Slaking, eyes closed like Brock's.<p>

"Ugh... Wow, I'm late."

She rolled to the side of the bed but no one was there anymore. The girl pressed the PokeNav to her chest, reminiscing Drew's cold voice hitting her like a slap in the face.

_"Then I can't believe you're that blind!"_

"I think he's still mad at me..."

Getting some clean and folded clothes from her bag, she quickly dressed herself up to leave the house and catch the train - she wasn't really on the mood to watch the Pokeblock workshop in CW but ignore her planned schedule would be a way too wasted opportunity. Tying a pink bandanna to her hair, she pondered if she should call Drew or talk to him in person.

Sometimes she would feel like dancing some masochism waltz - May trusted Drew but once in a while she would hesitate without reason; every time she was afraid to follow one of his steps, she would trip on the floor and mess up the whole dance. They would go back to step zero.

Patting on her old denim dress and pink shirt, she sighed to herself on the mirror.

Walking down the stairs, the coordinator heard her Skitty meow to something in the kitchen. She took a small glance at that room.

Resting over the table, one jar full of orange juice and small sandwiches graciously packed in colorful folded napkins.

May kept staring at the mini breakfast. She held her tiny pink cat in her arms and sat on the chair. "What is this...?"

Roserade entered the house with Masquerain, biting their last chunks of pokemon food. The coordinator girl immediately checked Skitty's face - its fur was slightly messy with food as well.

"Oh, he's just fed you guys. Guess Drew just left the house..." May sighed, clearly frustrated. "We never get it right..."

The two pokemon giggled. Masquerain danced around the coordinator girl and the fresh meal on the table.

May blinked. Tilting her head to the side, she was still not fully convinced. "Wait... Is that for _me_?"

She opened the cupboard and saw all the clean dishes from yesterday resting on their right place._ Was that real?_

"Drew's not mad at me?"

"Fly, flygon!" The slender flying green dragon put his head inside the room from the opened window - then all pokemon inside the kitchen nodded to May.

The confused girl felt her cheeks get oddly warmer.

"Well... I guess this is how he says 'I'm sorry', huh?"

She smiled to herself, holding the packed sandwich like a little special gift.

* * *

><p>Leaving the train station, May ran straight to the Convention Center, checking her timetable for that morning.<p>

"Good, I'll be right on time..." Marking her CW passport with a blue pen, she grinned in victory.

Checking the workshop stands one by one, the brunette coordinator finally spotted the one with a big banner calling for all Pokeblock workshop participants. Nurse Joy was almost done preparing the ingredients for the lecture - meanwhile, another Joy sister was reading and checking the passports.

"Hi, what's your name?" The pink-haired woman smiled. "Could you write it down here and wait a minute, please?"

May took a long breath and tried to relax herself.

However, it was quite hard to concentrate for the workshop when other unrelated topics kept calling for attention. She was incredibly anxious about her Appeal exhibition; that was their last rehearsal day, their last chance to master Glaceon and Absol's attacks and make them perfect! She had to do her best and prove she was more than ready to earn the Top Coordinator title in the next season.

The other bugging issue... For some reason, she kept thinking about the "you're blind" statement.

The breakfast.

The clean dishes.

Her eternal clumsy dance with Drew...

_"Then I can't believe you're that blind!"_

May bit her lower lip, perturbed with that harsh and bitter answer.

Did she want to dance the waltz? Maybe... But not with those painful steps - it should be something fun!

And being honest with herself? If she knew it would be something good, the answer could be not just _maybe_, but p_robably. Did she want it? For real?  
><em>

_If Drew offered his hand to dance with her, she would probably accept it.  
><em>

May kept thinking about all those things while cutting and mixing the berries on her table. Looking at the small colorful fruit cubes resting on a plastic board, the coordinator girl remembered all the times Drew cooked for her. That calm and gentle countenance that he refused so much to display and admit... It kind of melted her heart.

She blushed, thinking about all the times the green-haired boy played prince charming and how the following moments were usually screwed up due to her personal insecurities. But what if he's just playing a joke on her? What if people hear it and make fun of them? What if she says something stupid and blow up everything in an irreversible way?

Perhaps it was about time to be a braver girl and just have fun taking the dance steps...

"And we're done!" A Nurse Joy cheerfully opened the blender, showing to all the small white cubes inside the machine. "These are the famous four-flavored white Pokeblocks! If you want to learn more about them, Kelly from Lilycover's Pokeblock shop will host a question and answer show later during the evening! Alright, let's start the next one..."

"Nurse Joy, are you sure they weren't supposed to turn into coal?"

Watching her sample Pokeblocks solidify in a deep black color, May decided to believe it was all Drew's fault instead of her own natural ineptitude to cook those complex candies.

* * *

><p>After buying Max's souvenir and a couple of stuff for herself, the brunette girl spotted Drew checking out few book from some display stands. She giggled, noticing he was once again wearing a black t-shirt - though at least this one had a different and longer cut and the classic purple jacket was left at home.<p>

"Hey, Drew!" The girl waved her arm happily, running into his direction. "Over here!"

"Hm?" The green-haired rival closed the book on his hands. "Oh, hey."

"What an original pick! Black looks good on you, huh?" The brunette grinned, poking Drew's shirt. "You should taste rainbow more often, tehee!"

"And I see you still wearing bandannas." He quickly replied with an unchangeable blank stare, pulling the tip of her pink hair accessory. "Keep the rainbows for you, I'm fine this way. I don't want to be silly like you."

"Meh!" May stuck her tongue out in disapproval. "I only won't call you a jerk because your sandwiches made me happy."

"That?" The boy shrugged, pretending he didn't care about it. "That was nothing."

"Thank you for the delicious breakfast," the brunette spoke with sheer excitement and gratitude. She considered talking about their discussion but decided to cheer up the moment instead. "It was so delicious! That was very kind of you. Here, I bought these for you as a small thank you gift!"

She opened her purse and offered Drew a small package of red candies. The boy opened his mouth to ask if those were the same type as that strawberry one from the closet fiasco - however, he decided to not spoil the moment by bringing up such awkward memory to their discussion. "Ah... Thanks."

"Open it, open it!" The girl singed her words merrily, staring at the candies with temptation. "I want one of them, please! Open it-"

"_Ohohoho, these are my favorites! Do you guys think about me when you eat them?"_

* * *

><p>Harley jumped from behind a promotional banner, wearing a very familiar purple jacket and a messy dark green wig. He spun around his feet like a ballerina, spreading black feathers and rose petals around himself. Meanwhile, Banette and Cacturne waved small "GO TOP COORDINATOR" flags behind their master. As the final act, Wigglytuff popped out small firecrackers that threw confetti and paper stars to the audience.<p>

A true Human Appeal Exhibition.

"Hello, _oharleyou gozaimasu_ my friends!" The tall coordinator shouted to the small crowd that formed nearby the rivals. "I love you all!"

Drew felt something inside him _dying_.

"Huh?" May saw the weird tall figure jumping in front of her. "Ugh... Harley? Is that you?"

The Cacturne man hugged himself and elegantly took a black rose from his jacket. He graciously offered it to the coordinator boy and blew a sassy kiss to May. For some unknown reason the two teenagers felt like throwing up.

"I have no idea what is that and I refuse trying to understand it." Drew ignored the rose with an outraged stare, watching Harley's pokemon sweeping and cleaning the floor by his side. "This is sick. Harley, you look ridiculous..."

"So our Prince Drew is inviting Princess May to have breakfast at his house? Did I hear it right?" Harley squeezed himself between the younger coordinators. "That's so charming! You're trying a new flirting technique, huh? Tell me everything, I'm all ears!"

"Harley!" May whined, cheeks as pink as her shirt. "It's not what you think, I was just praising Drew for-"

The boy suddenly noticed what his rival was about to say - and how bad it would be for them telling Harley they weren't just having breakfast together but _living together for a whole week_.

THE nightmare.

"Don't!" Drew raised his hand to May, who immediately shut her mouth with her hands.

"Are you two trying to hide something I don't know?" The Drew cosplay raised an eyebrow. "Uhuhuh, tabloid news content... Tell me more about it."

"Drew... Are you okay?" The brunette girl watched in fear her Appeal partner exhale a dark and grim aura around his body.

The boy didn't answer anything, covering his forehead in irritation.

"I've got a proposal for you twooo..."

Harley took off his wig, revealing his long shining purple hair in two pigtails tied with two big ribbon bows; almost as perfect as a schoolgirl - making him look a very unique feminine guy with a manly body.

"How about this, huh?" The Cacturne coordinator danced around his rivals, making the pigtails bounce gracefully. "Pretty awesome, isn't it?"

Awesome?

"Ugly." Both teenagers answered the question almost immediately, dreadful looks on their faces. "Very ugly."

"I'm not talking about my fabulous hairstyle, twerps!" The exquisite coordinator stomped his feet on the floor, pointing to his pigtails. "Are you two Coordinators or not? I'm talking about these!"

"Hmm..." Scratching his eyes and checking them closer, Drew muttered, unsure about his guess. "Are those actually blue scarves? Those for pokemon, I mean."

"Bingo!" Harley grinned, touching the delicate accessories on his head. "Straight from my beautiful hometown, the best of the best. Slateport's blue scarves of beauty! Bought those for Johto's Grand Festival and now I have no use for them, what a pity..."

"B-But, but..." May's eye grew into big pleading Jigglypuff eyes. "But they would work perfectly with our Appeal!"

"It definitely would!" Harley mimicked May's innocent stare. "Wouldn't it be nice if some kids helped Harley being happy today? Harley maybe would be a good boy and let his friends use his ribbons to their appeal exhibition! How about a thank you speech before you enter the stage? _To Harley, our great friend and Contest Master_!"

"You won't bribe me, neither M-..." The boy muttered in an austere voice, then turned his face to his partner. The brunette coordinator was hugging the pigtail Drew clone, both filling up their eyes with big and fake Jigglypuff tears, ready to try convincing him to change his mind. "..._You're kidding me_."

"Hey, Drew..." The begging coordinators watched him frown in disgust. Emotional fake tears were shed. "Awww, Drew..."

"Stay away from me!" Drew nervously flicked his hair, walking in faster steps to avoid looking at the crazy duo.

Solidad spotted the trio and tried to wave hello to all of them - however, the green-haired boy passed by her without saying a single word.

"Hmm... Guys, what happened?"

* * *

><p>May decided to avoid bothering her contest partner during the lunch. Harley's constant need for attention and Sid's not-so-subtle "seduction" helped her being a little bit distant from her green-haired rival.<p>

Drew didn't talk much during the whole meal. He was a bit quieter than usual, only answering some occasional questions and comments.

"Mr Drew, you're so amazing! I loved how your Flygon got an incredible score last Grand Festival!"

"Thank you, Brianna." Drew answered politely, staring at his cup of tea. "I'm glad to hear that."

May kind of hoped that Sid would get interested on Brianna; however, though they did interact during the dinner, the big boy told the redhead how much she reminded of his young friends Audrey and Kathryn. Sid immediately adopted the shy girl as his new little sis' - May actually found that detail really cute...

"Bri, don't you think May would love to swim with me to the Pink Sea?"

...Except for the fact that (to her horror and despair) didn't Sid to keep hitting on her. And now he had the support of a tiny avid cupid, absolutely crazy for that matchmaking event.

"Yeah, May! I think you should definitely try it! It's such a famous place in LaRousse!" Brianna clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling in excitement. "So romantic! Every girl should explore it at least once with her beloved one! You should give Sid a chance!"

"See, Bri knows what she's saying..." Sid grinned in a teasing way. "What do you think about that, Solidad? How about you, Mr Rival?"

The Top Coordinator giggled quietly. "It sounds a lovely place indeed."

Drew raised his head, silent for a few seconds.

"You're inviting the wrong woman." Dodging the question, the green-haired boy shrugged and yawned in an uninterested way. "May's the only person sitting with us that would for sure scare off all living creatures from that place. They would feel threatened watching her swimming inelegantly like a Feebas outside the water."

"Drewww!" The brunette exploded, making little thunderbolts of rage fly around her head. "Don't you dare saying it ag-"

"Gee, how rude!" Harley inserted himself into the discussion. "No no no, that's not how we are supposed to handle a blooming relationship!"

"Blooming... Relationship?" The little thunderbolts slowly puffed away, changing May's mood from annoyance to surprise. "Harley!"

"Yes, isn't it cute!" The older coordinator gawked at the two friends with teasing looks. "Hey, don't forget about the scarveees! Behave and be nice to me! You promised it..."

"Oh..." May lowered her head in defeat. "You're right."

Brianna glanced at her idol, who hadn't changed his expression since they entered the Pokemon Center.

"Mr Drew, are you okay?" The redhead timidly touched his hand. "You look so... Serious today."

"I'm fine, just trying to concentrate for tomorrow's Appeal." The green-haired boy smiled and patted on Brianna's hand, making the young girl blush in happiness. "Thanks for worrying."

"You can't do that!" Harley scolded the gentle moment between the two coordinators. "You gotta be nicer with May, not that girl!"

Drew gave the purple-haired man an intense and austere look. "Harley, shut up. Brianna deserves being well-treated, I don't care if you want to compare her to May, it doesn't matter. Brianna deserves respect anyway."

"Oh, Mr Drew..." The redhead hide her face behind her hands, clearly flustered and happy about his attitude.

Sid snickered under his breath, talking to Solidad. "That guy is really the ladies man, huh? Man, he's a pro!"

"And he's just a teenager." She giggled, resting her chin on her hands. "I wonder how Drew's going to be after growing up for real..."

May was the only one besides Harley who didn't exactly feel like laughing.

* * *

><p>"See you tomorrow, everybody! Don't forget Harley's name before entering the stage!"<p>

"Have a nice day and good luck with your last rehearsal!" Sid winked. "Don't forget to call me, babe! I'll be waiting!"

The coordinators waved goodbye to Sid and Harley, who walked away from the remaining quartet and took a different street route.

"Mr Drew, before I go, I..." Brianna shyly whispered while holding her hands close to her chest. "Can we talk in private for a second?"

The boy slightly raised his eyebrows in surprise, putting his hands in his pockets. "Yes? Sure, of course."

Brianna pulled his arm and jumped to another route. Meanwhile, Solidad opened her purse and handled out her Pokeblock case to May.

"Huh, what is it?" The brunette blinked, holding the small case in her hands. "W-wait, I can't use it, this is..."

"You can use it this time, it's okay." The older coordinator smiled. "It's my special blend, I think it's going to work perfectly with your pokemon. Tomorrow I want you two to rock it all... We won't be rivals this time, I will definitely cheer for you and Drew, May."

"Ahh, really?" May's face glittered in radiance, bowing politely to her veteran. "Thank you, thank you so much!"

"You're welcome." The Top Coordinator nodded in consent. She smiled, noticing how much taller her friend had grown during the past years. "You have no idea how beautiful it is to watch you guys challenge yourselves to reach the top... I'm glad to see it all with my own eyes. Keep that spirit up, okay?"

"Bye, Solidad... Bye, May!" The two girls turned their head around and saw Brianna happily waving them goodbye, standing on another moving platform. "Good luck tomorrow!"

"See you, Brianna!" May shouted back, standing on the tip of her toes. "Thanks for coming... Huh, where's Drew?"

She spotted the green-haired teenager waltzing around the moving streets, quickly tracing a route full of shortcuts and returning back to Solidad and May's track.

"What's that look on your face?" The brunette saw him touching a hand on his cheek then quickly changed her expression to a worried face. "Did she hit you?"

"Why would Brianna hit me?" The rival raised an eyebrow, pointing a finger to his face. "Do you see any bruises here?"

Drew crossed his arms and May tilted her head to the side, thinking in silence for a few seconds.

All of sudden, she jumped in surprise.

"Then... Wait, did she _kiss_ you?" The coordinator girl frowned, quite shocked.

Drew smirked, provoking in a sardonic voice. "Why? Are you jealous?"

"_Jealous?_ Me?" She hissed, clearly perturbed by his answer - confirming her question and teasing her in an annoying way. "Yeah, like I care!"

The brunette started to watch her shoes instead of looking at her rivals.

"You're okay?" Drew saw Solidad smiling, giving him that peculiar knowing look he feared so much.

"Huh..." He flicked his hair, pretending it was a banal question. "It's nothing. Are you jealous too?"

"You're acting differently." The older coordinator pointed out. "Everybody noticed something different is going on your head... Drew, what happened?"

"Nothing happened," he spoke in a bland voice tone, avoiding looking at his friend's eyes. "I need to concentrate for tomorrow's appeal and I'm not in the mood to talk, just that."

"We can talk later if you want," the young woman muttered in a lower voice, acting like their little chat was some kind of secret. "You know, I will always be there if you ask me for some help."

"Help? What help?" The green-haired coordinator sighed, feeling slightly annoyed. "I told you, I'm fine. Why are you so paranoid about me?"

"Did M-"

"Leave me alone!" The boy snapped, staring angrily at Solidad.

"Oh well..." Solidad shrugged and sighed, not feeling (not even remotely) threatened by his angry scowl. However, she didn't pressure the boy with said issue anymore, trying to respect his silence and let him cool down his head. "Okay, you're being stubborn as usual. I won't ask you about this anymore..."

"Good." Drew closed the discussion in a distant voice, walking away from the Top Coordinator. "I'm glad you understood it."

May closed her eyes, crossing her arms in annoyance. Some bitter feeling was crawling under her skin, making her buff and frown to everything around her toes - this time, she oddly ignored every single Block Bot and any other cool gadget floating around the streets.

"Hmpf..." She groaned to herself, clenching her fists. "Like I care about it!"

* * *

><p>AN: Hello everybody, we're back! Thanks for the patience and for reading [When Drew met May] as well.

About this chapter: Dinner time with everybody? Nay! I thought someone would notice that was already too much for a day, not only due to the exhausting events but also for traveling time, hehehe. Wow, it was initially a 3k-ish words chapter... It's over six thousands now it's fully reviewed and rewritten, lol. Sorry, this was supposed to be two different chapters - but since I've got to take a small break due to IRL stuff, I thought you guys would enjoy more content before I disappear for few weeks again xD I might rewrite some stuff in this chapter later (or transform it into two different chapters), but I'll keep it like this for now.

The clothing easter egg from today comes from Pokémon Chamo-Chamo Pretty, May is wearing Haruka's (yeah they share the same name!) outfit. I wish we had more pictures of the manga so you guys could see it online, there's only Bulbapedia's entry and one pixiv fanart :/ It's really cute and I can picture her wearing those pink and white striped long socks.

Ugh, Tobias... The biggest troll in D/P series - Ash really lost the league to a Deus Ex Machina, poor boy lol.

About the next chapter: Is Drew going to say anything to May about what's going on?... Did he _figure out_ what's going on his mind (c'mon, kid! You really like her, admit it~)? Stay tuned for more!


	12. Chapter 12: The truth

**Welcome Home ch12: The truth**

"Glaceon, jump!"

Feeling her guts burn in effort, May ordered the next attack of her small partner with a loud and strong voice. "I'm counting on you, let's go! Blizzard attack!"

Glaceon tried to follow the complex commands as fast as possible, though the ice pokemon hesitated quite a bit to perform them due to something strange about the coordinator's voice.

Absol and the other pokemon outside their pokeballs were watching the duo perform with attentive eyes - also sensing something strange in the air.

Drew raised an eyebrow watching his Contest partner ooze a sinister aura around herself. The boy raised his arm ready to order Absol's next move but he swiftly changed his mind, choosing to stay in silence instead.

"Huh, what's wrong?" The coordinator girl blinked in surprise then fretted, clenching her fists tightly. "Drewww, we don't have time to do mistakes like that! We're running out of time to practice this..."

"I agree," Drew groaned in a displeased voice. "Can't you see you're totally out of yourself? Gosh, this is not going to work until you show more confidence in the right places."

"But I-I I'm fine!..." May felt her cheeks getting warmer. "My voice shows confidence, I'm sure Glaceon can do all of this! You're the one here who needs more concentration..."

"Are you sure? Look at Glaceon's eyes... You're not being confident, you're being plain aggressive." The green-haired boy sighed, crossing his arms. "That energy is not being used to test limits or improve anything. You're just vomiting personal issues on your poor pokemon."

"Me?"

The brunette quickly changed her attention to her pokemon; Glaceon growled and gave her an obedient yet sad look, making the trainer grimace in guilty.

"Aw, I'm sorry! I'm sorry for being so harsh with you, Glaceon... It's just that-" May refused to admit she was the one wrong, dodging her rival's inquisitive stare. "C'mon, you provoked it first! It's hard to hold my temper all the time... It's your fault I'm annoyed?"

"Uh, _it's your fault I'm annoyed_?" The rival repeated her allegation, including the question mark in the end of the original quote. "What kind of logic is that? I was the one who tolerated your silly jokes with Harley for the entire meal, I even didn't get praised for that! How can you be the annoyed one here? I mean, unless... Are you bothered about what happened few hours ago?"

The clumsy brunette almost tripped on the floor after hearing that question.

"Why!" She waved her arms frantically. "Hmpf, like I care! Well, how can I be angry about something I don't know? I have _no idea_ what Brianna told you."

Drew shrugged, sitting next to his house's entrance. He picked up one of the blue scarves on the floor and tied it around his wrist. "I was talking about _Harley_ but... Oh well, you gave me the true answer now. I know what's bugging you so much."

May opened her mouth to answer it but she couldn't say a word.

"So, what if I told you what she said to me?" Her rival kept going. "Would it change anything?"

"W-Wait..." She calmed down for a second, breathing in a slow rhythm. "Was it... Something important?"

"It's... _Confidential information_." The green-haired boy smiled with an arrogant and teasing grin. "Why should I tell you what exactly Brianna talked to me?"

The brunette put her hands on her hips in disgust. "Egh..."

"Because..." She frowned, still fairly upset. "Because I'm curious! I'm more curious than a bad nosy Skitty! Gee, just tell me already!"

The real Skitty raised its ears in vigilance, jumping in excitement for hearing its name. Munchlax rolled its eyes out and patted on the pink cat's head.

"Okay, I enjoy your humble sincerity." Drew smirked. "Good point."

_Jealousy much?_

He grinned in vain, but subtly shifted his arrogant smile to a less abrasive one. "I'd never reveal Brianna's secret, that would be completely rude and it's none of your business, right? However-"

"I don't know why so much curiosity about it but... I think that, for you, it doesn't change anything." He flicked the tip his hair and stood up right in front of his partner. "Are you by any chance also angry because of an innocent small peck on the cheek? _Really_?"

"_Hey!_" The brunette felt her face intensively flustered. Was that the mysterious reason that was getting on her nerves so much? "_No_! Why does that makes any difference, I'm angry with you, not Brianna! Because... Because..."

"Because- you're making this secret talk sound like a big deal!" She put her hands on her head in distress like a Psyduck with headache. "And also because- Gah, I don't know! Never mind, forget it... You annoy me, that's all!"

"I have no idea what you've just said but-" They boy touched his face and added one more detail to his answer in a casual voice. "Okay, so make it even. There, kiss me."

May walked closer to Drew in pure impulse then stopped in front of him with a shocked expression painted all over her face. "Then- Wait... _Kiss you_?"

"Go ahead." The boy tilted his head to the side, crossing his arms behind his back. "If this is what is bothering you so much... Just do it."

Suddenly, all pokemon stared directly at May. She frowned, refusing to stare back - focusing her eyes to her shoes instead. Her hands were sweating and trembling in anxiety - confused thoughts inside her head, adrenaline rush inside her veins.

Every single life form in that place was waiting for her answer. "I..."

"I... I can't!"

The brunette quickly looked at his disarming eyes; after that, she felt her cheeks blush and went back staring at her own shoes. "I can't! I don't want to kiss you! Why would I do that?"

Silence.

Glaceon cried softly and sat by Absol's side. Meanwhile, the other pokemon decided to go back to what they were doing before the two coordinators started training outside the house.

"I was just joking anyway," Drew whispered slightly embarrassed, slowly changed his smug expression to a mildly annoyed one. "So, what the heck you want..."

The green-haired boy crouched next to Absol and took Harley's scarf off his arm, wearing it around his pokemon's neck. The elegant beast stretched its body and moved it to nuzzle the coordinator's hand, noticing the subtle disappointment inside those emerald green eyes.

Absol silently looked at Glaceon; Glaceon nodded and stared at May, who felt her heart sink down to the stomach. The whole climax was gone.

_If Drew offered his hand to dance with her, she would probably accept it._

_Why did she refuse it then?  
><em>

The shy coordinator bit her lower lip, clearly upset for being pressured to make the first move in front of everybody. That was so unfair! She was also unhappy for giving Drew such a lame answer; acting like this only made things more difficult and hurting her partner's ego with such immediate bad answer didn't help either, for sure.

"Oh boy, I'm being stupid again..." The girl talked to herself, hitting her forehead. "I'm so dumb."

"Hey, Drew. I... Didn't mean to say that." She sat by his side, still not confident enough to look at his eyes but clearly trying to fix her previous statement. "I-I mean, I don't want to kiss you, but..."

May closed her eyes then took a long breath.

"I'm a girl and your partner, at least until tomorrow I'll be more than a rival... I wish meanwhile you could consider some stuff that didn't matter while we were just mortal enemies. Girls not always know what they want, you know that? Take it easy."

"I..." Drew raised his eyebrow in confusion - May's weird change of speech kind of surprised him. "Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about."

_"I mean, I always wanted to get closer to you without looking stupid, it's so hard to reach you without failing it! Then Brianna out of nowhere managed to do what I always wanted to do-" _

The brunette pictured herself in her thoughts telling him the truth - however, somehow the second part of her words escaped from out of her mouth. "You let her do that. You helped it happen, you never do that to me! Yeah, that's why I got a bit angry about all of this!"

"It doesn't make sense at all but..." The coordinator boy crossed his arms, frowning his eyebrows a bit. "Are you implying that..."

May felt her body turning red.

What did she just say?

* * *

><p>"Ahem... Lalala, that's it! I think I've solved the problem myself, I'm not angry with you anymore!" Completely mortified, she blurted out a random excuse with a forced happy smile, sweat drops storming out of her head. "Haha... Isn't it great?"<p>

"... No?"

"Not a little bit?" May forced her happy smile to grow into a huge grin. "Uh, please?"

"No?" Drew felt his whole face frown in disbelief against his own will.

That whole silly speech confirmed his first intuition.

_'Jealousy much'? Yes, jealousy much._

He considered shooting an answer about how awful her excuse was, however...

A small spark inside his head flashed an interesting idea. That was an opportunity way too good be missed.

"Well, I can't really rewind the time neither deny that Brianna kissed me, but..." Pulling the tip of May's pink bandanna, the boy chuckled under his breath. "Okay, close your eyes."

"My eyes?" The brunette girl raised her hand in a interrogative attitude. "Why should I-"

Mimicking Brianna's gesture, Drew lowered his head gently and gave an abrupt and quick kiss on her cheek.

"There." He poked her head with the palm of his hand. "Now calm down, we got a big show tomorrow, people from all continents will be watching us. I want it perfect, I'll kill you if _your_ crazy airhead of yours blew it all because of nonsense stuff. Stop panicking."

"Ah..." May held her cheek in a dazzled way, feeling her skin with a delicate touch of her fingers.

She shook her head in embarrassment, trying to look as normal as possible after receiving that unexpected sweet kiss.

"T-That's what I said before!... Concentration, concentration!" Putting the other scarf around Glaceon's neck, May sang those words to herself. "Concentration, concentration!"

Drew sighed, touching his lips thoughtfully.

"You sound oddly _happier_ now." He observed, small devilish grin appearing on his mouth.

"I do not!" May pouted. "I was no longer angry way before this!"

"You do."

"I do not!"

"Sorry, I can't help I'm much more popular and desired than you... And guess no one besides Harley likes to kiss the bad moody queen, huh?" The green-haired coordinator gave her a playful pitiful look. "Did I give you some hope in the end of the tunnel? You do sound happier now."

"Hmpf!" She shook her head again then stuck her tongue out in provocation. "Concentrate on our Appeal first, then we discuss about that, alright! Jerk..."

The girl winked then blew a kiss to her partner.

"Okay, we are all even now!" May smiled playfully. "Are you ready?"

The boy blinked. He didn't move for few seconds then briefly muttered something impossible to recognize, flicking the tip of his hair.

"Hm? What did you say?"

"Nothing. Alright, let's do this." He grinned, trying to change the subject and ready to have a blast. "Tomorrow is our real test."

* * *

><p>Leaving the bathroom with a wet towel on his head, Drew threw himself on the bed then drowned his face into his pillow.<p>

Turning his body to the side, the green-haired teen spotted May in pink pajamas organizing some stuff inside her bag - then walking into his direction.

"May I?"

Hearing his partner talking to him, the boy didn't say a word in answer but slowly rolled out to the side, giving some generous space on his bed. The girl scratched her head in embarrassment, smiling meekly.

"Thank you."

She jumped to his side in a childish way, bouncing playfully on the bed. "Wheee!"

"You're terrible, you know?" The boy sighed then muttered with a small grin on his face. "I bet Max is the one who used to take care of you, not the opposite."

The two young coordinators were a bit tired after training very hard for their next day's exhibition, slightly sore throats and tired legs - still, none of them felt too sleepy. May was full of adrenaline dreaming of spotlights and her beautiful red dress; Drew was quite busy fighting agaisnt those strange feelings inside his chest. They were growing stronger and somehow it was getting harder to hide them.

The brunette poked her partner's back, whispering her words in a happy tone. "Drewww, are you awake?"

"Hm..." Turning his back to the other side, he faced two big curious eyes watching him with glee. "Yeah, I am. Why?"

"Oh, me too. I think I'm too excited about tomorrow! This is going to be amazing, we did a great job! I'm so tired yet so anxious! So... How are you feeling? I think you and Absol did a great job, the ice petals look so pretty and real!"

"Yeah, they do..." The boy slowly replied while putting the towel on his head aside. "Don't worry. We will be fine, Glaceon and Absol are fully confident about their skills. You just need to not hesitate, that's all."

"Ehehe..." The brunette grinned, poking his shoulder in a teasing manner. "You know, I love competing against you but working together with you is-"

"May..."

Drew touched her hair in a gentle way. He couldn't stop watching her innocent and surprised eyes. He was trying really hard to hold all the strange feelings running down his spine, holding his arms to not get closer to her. However, the confused boy couldn't help but keep playing with her hair, caressing as if it was fragile as that cold rose petal.

"Why? I don't understand..." He frowned in a puzzled expression, feeling his body getting heavy and uncomfortable. "Why I can't..."

"Drew?..."

May couldn't really read his face; she didn't know why he looked so tense and a bit... Sad? His gestures were tender but something about his sharp eyes warned that her partner was feeling uneasy and reluctant about something strange.

But what exactly was it?

"Uh... What's wrong, Drew? Are you okay," the teenager girl spoke in a soft way, slightly worried about her partner. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing..." He let his hand go out of her hair, retreating it and sighing quietly to himself. "Look, I'm not exactly sleepy but I guess I need some rest. You know, I'm really tired..."

"Oh..." The brunette muttered, lowering her eyes. "Okay, then..."

"But... You know, Luvdisc's Pink Sea..." With a quite serious look on his face, the young boy watched his rival close her eyes. "If you want to see wild Luvdisc once in your life, maybe... I think you might find them in that island Sid told you about. It's a real place."

"Island?" May opened her eyes in mildly surprise.

"Yes, Luvdisc families live in nests made from Corsola branches... I actually know how to go to that place, we just need some pokemon that can surf to southeast LaRousse." The boy coughed, slightly embarrassed. "Maybe we could... Check it someday?"

"Oh! Really?" The brunette exclaimed in surprise. "That would be so awesome! It's the prettiest natural spot in LaRousse, isn't it? Ohhh, Wartole would handle this just fine! Sid and Brianna are dying to see the Pink Sea, it's supposed to be a romantic place and we could all go together to..."

"Hmm..." All of sudden, May blushed, putting her hands close to her chest. "Unless you..."

"Drew, are you inviting me for a date?"

* * *

><p>Another huge awkward silence filled up the bedroom.<p>

"Uh, maybe... Yes? Now we're officially partners and rivals, right?" The boy tried to fix his proposal, pretending it was no big deal by crossing his arms and avoiding staring at those curious sapphire eyes. "Only a comrade thing. Well, you complained about how you want to be treated like a girl, so... There's nothing weird about that, is there?"

"It is a bit..." The girl giggled sweetly. "Harley would mock us so badly, don't you think?"

May closed her eyes and smiled, thinking about his kiss. Both returned to their heavy awkward silence for another couple of seconds.

The boy came up with an answer as soon as he figured out what he needed to say to break up that uncomfortable cage. "Never mind. You're right, it's a stupid idea."

The brunette didn't understand Drew's sudden change of heart; that really surprised her. Her timid heart was jumping out of her chest - trying to keep going on with their weird chat, she just rambled whatever went on her mind. "I don't think it's a stupid idea!"

"It is a stupid idea!" He quickly replied, a little bit harsher than he intended to sound. "It has nothing to do with Contests and people would most likely bother us for going out together. It's nonsense, blame my tired brain."

"I don't care it has nothing to do with Contests! Luvdisc, hmm..."

_Who cares about what the others say?_ The girl wanted him to invite her out... She really regretted talking about Harley. Maybe she should just shut up about that friend, Drew obviously felt annoyed every time his name appeared in their discussion. "I know those, I've seen a whole swarm of them once, I guess? The heart-shaped ones, right? Hahaha, they're adorable... So, we can find them in LaRousse if we surf to southeast, huh?"

"Oh." Drew's eyes got wide open. May had already seen wild Luvdisc before? "Really? They're very rare and can only be found by humans in their natural habitat and in very... Specific conditions."

"Hmm..." With a curious tone, he added a question. "You've seen a swarm of those before? How come?"

May raised an eyebrow, feeling that one was a quite odd question. "Huh... Why?"

"Well, it's..." The boy coughed, unsure how to put his thoughts in words. "Wild Luvdisc are somehow fragile and they're _very_ afraid of humans... They are a quite rare sea Pokemon, you know?"

_Manaphy..._

May's heart suddenly got heavier.

"Yeah, I've heard they are rare. The water gym leader from Hoenn had one, though... And my gym leader friend from Kanto got a couple for their Aquarium as well." The brunette tried to shrug off her nostalgia, trying to smile thinking of Misty. "The sensational sisters show them in their Aquatic Exhibition! It must be beautiful!"

"Oh, that's lovely... But you haven't answered me yet."

May blushed, a bit uncomfortable. Those memories about her times with Manaphy were very special but also intimate... Also, Drew's enigmatic and inquisitive stare was making her feel just too nervous and shy to talk about it.

"Drew..." She shook her head in embarrassment. "Uh, it's a _very_ personal memory..."

"Eh?" The green-haired rival blinked. Such strange surprise that he didn't bother to pretend not being interested on her story. "Personal memory?"

"I... I saw lots of them once in the Kanto sea..."

Drew felt even more puzzled. She quickly tried to complete the context of her line. "I know, they are native from Hoenn... I am not lying, Ash saw them too and we... And..."

Ash? That Ash again?... Drew frowned. "Oh. Ash Ketchum?"

"Hgh, I don't want to talk about it right now. The whole story meant a lot for me and - oh gosh, I miss him in my arms..." May bit her lower lip, looking down her legs. Manaphy's happy cry echoed in her mind, making her heart wrench in reminiscence.

"Sorry, I get a bit emotional when I think I might never see my friend again..." The brunette girl smiled softly, looking at Drew with gentle eyes. "Do you know that feeling? When you love someone but you can't stay together with that someone?"

Drew's heart stopped for a second.

* * *

><p>Wasn't it obvious... It was those two moments, the one he desired the most and the one he never wanted to happen - but, deep inside his heart, he knew it was an obscure possibility.<p>

It was that special smile. She finally fully opened herself to him. May let herself show her love, all her affection and kindness ready to welcome someone in her arms...

...But not him.

The boy cringed, feeling ashamed and confused. Suddenly many things became clearer - but also bitter and harsher.

That smile... It disarmed him.

Ash this, Ash that...

What was May doing? Weren't the two of them flirting with each other all day long? Why did they start opening their hearts to each other? What was that whole talk about getting closer? Being gentler and nicer?

He wanted to get closer. Now he knew he really wanted it for real. Not for fun, not for rivalry, just because May... Was just May. And that was enough.

But he _couldn't_.

"...Ah, I see." Drew laughed to himself - then turned his back to his partner. "I guess _I_ was the blind one, huh? Such an irony..."

The climate suddenly changed faster than a fingersnap. May couldn't see or understand what changed in the air but something really made it get colder.

"Sorry, Drew. That's a long and complicated story... I promise, I'll tell you about it maybe another time..." The brunette frowned. "It's just... Now... I can't really..."

"Don't worry, you don't need to keep going with that. It's personal, isn't it? Anyway, we should sleep, tomorrow will be an important day."

Few minutes ago she was feeling very heavy and warm, very warm - but she felt something heavier and surprisingly cold hit her chest... What happened?

The boy sighed, shrugging off the nonsense thoughts he had just imagined and tried to pretend that nothing had happened. However, what he really wanted to do was to hit his fist against the wall and yell.

Drew felt defeated.

"Yeah I see... Well, whatever. Goodnight, May."

"Night' Drew..."

And he had just figured out what exactly were his feelings for her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Thank you very much for your lovely comments and support, you guys make writing stories so much fun! I'm almost done writing [Welcome Home] but don't worry, I've got few ideas to work on as soon as I finish either this or [When Drew met May]~ I wonder if I should write more A/U or animeverse stories, which one do you enjoy the most?

About this chapter... Aww, they were so close! Drew almost said it but he gave it up after feeling his ego completely crushed! Bad time to lose the game - but now he knows what's going on inside his heart... Go Drew, you can do it! You didn't have any problem kissing May on the cheek, how about telling her your real feelings?

Next chapter... Appeals Show, here we go! Time to take the stage, I wonder how great will be May and Drew's teamwork in the next day of CW~


	13. Chapter 13: The showtime

**Chapter 13: The Showtime**

Roserade woke up the coordinators jumping in excitement on their sleepy backs.

It was luckily another sunny morning in LaRousse City - certainly, the perfect weather for the Appeals Exhibition Show.

"What is it?" The green-haired boy scratched his eyes while his loyal partner sat on his lap, trying to explain the big news with delight and high spirits. "Hm? Sure, I'll check them in a second."

"Waaah..." May yawned, sitting close to the green-haired teenager. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Drew muttered softly, paying attention to his flower pokemon. "Roserade is telling me that our roses bloomed earlier in this morning."

"_Really_?" Sapphire eyes suddenly got bigger and brighter, filled with emotion and curiosity. "I gotta see this!"

"Let's go, Drew!" May jumped off the bed and ran down the stairs in loud and clunky steps. "They must look so beautiful now!"

The tired rival sighed, trying to wake up and figure out what really happened and what was just a dream from the previous night.

"Roseee..." Roserade held Drew's soft hands, looking genuinely intrigued about his deep cryptic eyes - they were completely lost in an ocean of private thoughts. "Rosee... Roserade?"

"_Rosee_!"

"Hm?"

The coordinator suddenly snapped back to reality. His loyal partner was watching him closely, trying to fork out any reaction from his blank stare by slapping his leg.

"Ah." He smiled a bit, touching Roserade's beautiful white petals. "I'm fine, don't worry..."

Closing his eyes, Drew could vaguely feel the delicate scent of his rival lingering in the bedroom. The flower pokemon frowned, feeling quite worried about the infatuated boy.

Meanwhile, May opened the door and ran straight to the small rose garden. The sun welcomed the girl with a warm and fuzzy weather - she giggled in sheer happiness.

"This is so beautiful!" The girl crouched next to the little scarlet flowers. "Hahaha, look at this! I can't believe they bloomed so fast!"

She admired the fragile and detailed petals resting under the warm and welcoming sun, trying to imagine how gorgeous they would look in a few more days.

"You know, I don't live in a very crowded part of LaRousse but I still got few neighbors around."

May turned her head back and faced her rival wearing a blue robe, standing with his hands on his hips.

"Ahem..." The girl coughed, finally figuring out what Drew's words meant - feeling slightly embarrassed for walking around in her pink pajamas, she returned to inside the house.

Roserade sighed, glaring at the green-haired boy.

"What?" Drew shrugged, pretending to be the innocent one. "I'm just being a helpful guy, aren't I?"

* * *

><p>Stretching her arms above her head, May walked to the kitchen and saw Drew quietly reading some messages on his PokeNav.<p>

"Today's the big day, huh?" She stood behind him on the tip of her toes then grinned with confidence. "Are you ready to rock?"

"Always." The green-haired coordinator quickly answered with a smug grin on his face. "You're talking to a pro here, of course _I_'ll rock."

"_WE_ will rock. The two of us, not only you." The coordinator girl stuck her tongue out negatively; however, she slowly changed her voice to a nicer tone, althought it did sound a bit unnatural. "Anyway... I'm going to take a quick bath now and- Do you mind if I use some of your stuff?"

"Hm?"

May pouted sweetly then clasped her hands together with emotive pleading eyes. "Please?"

"What stuff are you- _Wait_." The boy suddenly realized what was she talking about. "Are you serious? C'mon, not my hair prod-"

"It will look fabulous, trust me! Look, it will be beautiful!" The brunette quickly interrupted her partner, holding her hair bangs in two high ponytails. "I promise!"

"Uh-" Drew opened his mouth to complain but she started bouncing cheerfully around him with those big unfair eyes. He scratched the back of his head then sighed in distress. "The red bottle is the last one I've got... Don't you dare emptying it, I still need that!"

"Nah, of course you won't mind if I do whatever I want with your precious hair products..." The teenager girl gave her partner a big cheeky grin. "After all, you love me very much, right?"

"_Huh?_"

Did she say those dreaded words? He frowned, looking away in embarrassment. "W-What are you talking about!"

"I'm just kidding!" She winked, waving goodbye. "I'll need only a little pinch to fix my hair, I'm not going to need the whole bottle, hahaha! Be right back!"

May giggled like a little kid and headed to the stairs humming a happy song.

Drew tried to wait until she was out of his sight to sigh again very loudly. What was that? He felt really bad for losing his control with such silly comment, lowering his head in defeat.

_You love me very much_, what a joke... Or not. That was ridiculous! If that stupid crush kept conspiring against his self-control, he would definitely lose his mind very soon. Since when did he let his guard go down so easily?

_May dressing up cutely for the Appeal. May under the ice petal rain. May jealous of Brianna. May sleeping peacefully on his bed, by his side... _

_May telling him about her missing love._

"Argh, why!"

Drew hit the kitchen table hard with both hands, groaning in annoyance. It was so disgusting to hear his heartbeats pulsing louder than his thoughts! He had just admitted to himself the fact he was falling for May - but the collateral effects of being infatuated weren't included in the consent list.

Neither the fact said infatuation was probably an unrequited feeling.

All of sudden, Flygon's head appeared on the other side of the opened windows.

"Fly, fly?" The majestic dragon called his master, slightly surprised by that sudden display of angry emotions.

"Yes, I'm fine!" The boy answered in a not so fine voice. "I'm just... _Struggling_ with some... Thoughts! Don't mind me!"

Flygon nodded to the other pokemon around, pointing its long tail to the young confused coordinator. "Fly, flygon!"

Absol jumped into the kitchen with Roserade on its back, scattering light pink rose petals on the floor. Masquerain chirped a soothing romantic song while flapping its wings to refresh the room.

"Wait..."

The boy frowned, watching Butterfree land on the table holding a small jar filled with sweet honey. "H-Hey..."

"Uh, guys?"

Drew's pokemon happily stared at their master, waiting for a positive reaction.

"A... Aaa..."

He opened his mouth then grumbled something impossible to understand; something mushy and strange was blocking the bottom of his throat like a tight knot.

Every single pokemon inside the house and Flygon started to giggle and laugh, amused with the funny embarrassment sparks floating around their master's green head.

"Alright, I got it..." The coordinator felt a vein popping out of his forehead. Grabbing his pokeball belt in the living room, he pretended to be calm but his twitching smile proved that was pretty much a bad façade. "Thanks for the hand but I think it's time to go back to your pokeball, right?"

After such awkward scene, Drew's conscience had just one piece of advice for himself: _See? Act cool and control your stupid heart and your reckless mouth... Or else everybody will laugh at you_.

* * *

><p>"<em>We all live, in a Pokemon World...<em>"

Meanwhile, upstairs...

The anxious girl got out of the bathtub and wrapped herself in a white towel. She was singing another old pop song, tapping her toes on the wet floor.

"I wanna be the greatest Master of them all!"

Looking at the fogged mirror, she started combing her hair. Holding few hairclips with her lips, May was ready to do her best to look pretty...

Some itching desire inside herself wanted to show Drew how elegant and classy she really was.

Maybe that Tag Appeal was the best chance to show him how dedicated and professional she could be. Insecurity always tried to knock her out - but this exhibition was the opportunity to prove she was worth the respect.

Not that Drew didn't respect her as a Coordinator... May knew he did value her skills - yet she always felt a huge fear of losing in front of him. It was her attempt to prove herself she wasn't afraid of her greatest trouble. Not in a battle aspect, neither rivalry or bickering...

_...Why was it so hard to accept his hand all the time he teased her about their infinite waltz?_

"Drew..." Just for fun, the brunette teenager applied a soft pink lipstick and looked at herself closer to the mirror. "...So, how do I look?"

She spoke in a sarcastic voice, copying her rival's teasing speech style.

"_Then make it even... There, kiss me._"

Her cheeks got slightly redder - and it was definitely not the makeup's fault.

* * *

><p>After recalling his pokemon back to their pokeball, the green-haired boy took a long breath and started working on a fruit dessert for breakfast. Drew picked up a small sharp knife and started peeling and slicing the oranges from the fruit basket.<p>

Apples, kiwis, bananas, grapes... Manipulating with food made him calmer and focused - it was exactly what he needed at that moment.

He picked up the honey jar and sighed softly with a gentle look in his eyes. The green-haired coordinator wasn't the best at expressing his feelings but he did appreciate every single gesture of love from his pokemon team.

His PokeNav blinked, announcing a new text message: Solidad called him to tell she would be soon at the Convention center with Harley and Brianna to appreciate the show. He groaned in pain just at the vague thought of Harley wearing a cheerleader outfit or any other weird cosplay...

Drew finished decorating the tall glass cup right before hearing footsteps going down the stairs. Biting the leftovers strawberries with a proud smile escaping from his lips, the boy contemplated his latest composition with sheer satisfaction.

"Tadaah, the Princess of Hoenn is ready to shine!"

May appeared behind the door with a radiant grin. Her hair was tied in two high side ponytails, two small braided locks framing her young face. "Makeup and hair done, dress packed, I'm ready to go on stage!"

"What do you think? Check this out!" She revealed two rose buds in her hand; the brunette coordinator smiled, adjusting the small flowers into her ponytails. "So, how do I look?"

She looked adorable.

Drew put a hand in front of his mouth, a small smile slipping out from his usual smug semblance. He wanted to answer "adorable" and many other cute adjectives - but he refused to sound like a stupid boy _twice in a roll_.

"Fine." The green-haired coordinator answered in a calm voice, trying to hold himself down. "It's okay."

"It's okay?" May could swear he was going to say something more appealing than a simple 'okay'_..._ She frowned, clearly disappointed with such simple and bland answer. "_Okay_? That's all?"

"Hm?" She quickly forgot about Drew's lame praising as soon as she noticed the table ready for breakfast. "Wow! This looks so pretty and yummy!"

The brunette girl sat on the chair and twitched her fingers. That pretty colorful dessert in front of her hands was making her drool in desire. Four layers of fresh fruits, honey and cream - small strawberries on the top. It was so perfectly organized it looked like a replica toy.

"Is it for me?" She asked, still surprised with Drew's cooking skills. Why didn't he open a patisserie instead of being a coordinator? "It's so pretty I don't know if I want to watch it or eat it!"

"Is it for you? No, it's for me." The boy smirked, twirling a spoon in front of his partner. "Of course it is for you, airhead. But if you're going to watch it..."

He ended the line by teasing his rival, taking a mouthful spoon from the tall glass of sweets. "...I don't mind taking it away from you."

"No! W-Wait..." May pouted like a little child being ignored by the adults. "I didn't mean it literally, stop!"

Grinning mischievously, the green-haired coordinator stole another bit from her parfait on purpose - making the girl squeal in protest. "Nooo, stop it!"

She grabbed another spoon on the table and started devouring the parfait in a hurry; Drew laughed, watching his rival acting very funny in an unconscious way. "Feh, you're so strange..."

"You find this strange? You don't have any siblings, do you?" The brunette pointed her spoon at her rival, speaking with solemnity. "It's all about survival."

They both shared the dessert in a mutual silence, as if both were very focused on eating the parfait - however, the two coordinators were actually trying to look at each other without being noticed. Drew wanted to check May's new and different style closer; May wanted to see Drew admiring and talking about her new look...

Yet no way they would admit their mutual wish to each other.

The tension point crashed when two spoons tried to reach the same juicy strawberry on the very bottom of the cup. The metallic sound made the brunette girl gasp out loud, raising her hands in the air.

"Ah-" The two coordinators muttered at the same time. "Uh..."

"It's the last one..." She muttered with a pleading Teddiursa expression. "May I eat it?"

For some strange reason Drew didn't fall to the cute face; his eyes were glued to those innocent lips, which were unintentionally asking for his attention.

"Hm... Drew?" The girl titled her head to the side, trying to figure out what he was thinking. "What's wrong?"

Strawberry, May's lips, that voice... The whole package made the boy lose his balance - he gulped, feeling his heart beating oddly fast.

"Ngh..." That stupid feeling._ Not again_. "N-Nothing..."

"Well," he said in a hurry, leaving the kitchen and heading back to his bedroom. "I'll take a bath while you finish your breakfast. If you still hungry there are few fruits left in the basket..."

"Drew?" May blinked, clearly confused.

"Bye."

"Drew?" She called him again; no answers. "Hey..."

Her rival wasn't explicit about it but she did notice he suddenly had the urge to avoid her - Drew didn't bother trigging a competition against her like usual... That was odd.

"_YOU_ are _strange_..." She muttered to no one in particular, eating the last strawberry and picking up one of the pink rose petals resting on the floor with a puzzled expression on her face. "I don't get you, really."

* * *

><p>After a freezing cold shower, Drew felt his mind set back on the Appeals Exhibition Show. On the way to the Convention Center, he quietly polished Absol's pokeball while listening to May's overexcited words about their petal roses trick and the folded dress in her arms.<p>

May couldn't stop dreaming about her high expectations of the upcoming event. Watching other people's works, presenting an awesome performance with Drew, dressing that beautiful costume... She was utterly anxious - soon those fun ideas were finally going to happen for real!

The Appeals Exhibition started during the evening, featuring Mr Contesta's remarkable speech - the official Contest judge announced a small peek of new techniques and ideas for next competitive season. Vivian walked on the stage and introduced the first participants of the show, making the crowd go wild.

Several coordinators from all over the world signed up for the great showdown at the Contest Week. People from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh... Most of them prepared complex solo exhibitions, but the few coordinators who tried to make a Tag Appeal had also creative and amazing skills under their sleeves. Pokemon and humans, they all had something new to captivate and surprise the house.

"Mismagius, go higher! _Lucky Chant_!"

The mysterious ghost pokemon flew to the center of the stage then started chanting an incantation - the gems on its body became pink and dark crimson tentacles came out of them.

"_Double Team_!" Zoey shouted the order moving her fencing sword gracefully in the air, crossing with Dawn's sword after the second command. "Now!"

"Togekiss, _Aura Sphere_!" Dawn raised her arms to the sky, smiling to the camera. "Attack it and activate _Safeguard_, go!"

Togekiss put its wings together, creating a light blue ball of energy. The flying pokemon aimed the blast at the Mismagius copies, making them spark in colorful explosions.

"For Arceus, that was a scary mighty move!" Vivian shouted while hiding her sight from the extreme brightness. "Togekiss has just shown us some extraordinary power... But what happened to Zoey's pokemon?"

"To attack and protect!" Dawn posed with her sword like a musketeer then winked playfully. "That's the way of the knights of Sinnoh!"

One by one, the duplicates faded out in the air; the real ghost pokemon just teleported on Togekiss, smiling proudly - and without a single scratch on its ethereal body.

"What is this exquisite combination!" Vivian exclaimed with eyes glowing in surprise. "The knights of Sinnoh created a spectacular colorful light explosion without dropping a single sweat drop! Mismagius and Togekiss are certainly great powerhouses, aren't they!"

* * *

><p>From the backstage, Drew put his white gloves on and watched the exhibition screen with genuine surprise; it was clear how May's friends were growing into great coordinators. They were synchronized in a perfect way with each other and their pokemon.<p>

"Wow," he muttered to himself, admiring the chemistry between the quartet from Sinnoh. "That was impressive..."

The young teenager took a last look in the mirror to fix his hair and place a red rose in his suit. Holding his hat close to his chest, Drew took a long breath and stared thoughtfully at the pokeball in his other hand. "Let's do it, Absol."

"How do I look?"

The boy turned his head and saw May standing shyly next to the dressing room's half-opened door.

She looked simply stunning.

The red dress fitted her perfectly; it enhanced her curves in the right places and the bright colors matched perfectly with her style. Red jewels complemented the small roses in her ponytails; the sweet hairstyle balanced with the daring costume, giving her a romantic and quirky appeal.

"You..." Drew walked closer to the beautiful young woman in front of him. "You look really-"

"Hey, it's May!"

The lively blue-haired coordinator entered the room, taking off her blue-feathered hat and running straight to her friend's arms. Laughing out loud, Dawn admired May's new look with excitement. "Awww, you look so beautiful!"

"Dawn!" The lady in red hugged her back, smiling to the two other girls. "Zoey!"

"Hiya, Princess of Hoenn!" The Top Coordinator waved her hand in greeting. "Are you ready to go on stage?"

"I saw your Appeal while I was dressing myself..." The brunette giggled, holding her cheeks with glee. "It was so beautiful! Congratulations, you girls rocked!"

"Haha, thanks!" Zoey grinned softly in answer to May's praise then poked her partner with her sword. "Dawn, those guys from the news want to take some pictures of us."

"Oh, we gotta go." Dawn whispered with a perky smile on her face. "It was good to see you! See you later here in the backstage rooms?"

"Hah, sure!" The brunette coordinator nodded. "Let's talk later!"

"Break a leg, you two!" Zoey cheered up her stage colleagues. "Do your best!"

May sighed in happiness while her friends left the room. Turning her attention back to Drew, she tilted her head to the side, watching him carefully.

"Thanks for inviting me to the show." She smiled sweetly, getting a pair of umbrellas next to her bag.

"It's been..." Taking a long breath, the girl in red started speaking with a quiet and fragile voice - she tried her best to sound casual and relaxed. "All of this, it's been really fun. I'm glad to be here today working together with you."

Loud heartbeats.

Drew lowered his head then discreetly held his chest before answering his partner.

"...Heh." The green-haired coordinator didn't look back at May, pretending to be busy with his handcuffs. He didn't want to let his guard down, not now that they were so close to perform on stage. "We should go to the entrance hall, two more Appeals to go before we enter."

"Oh... Sure." The girl muttered, slightly disappointed for not hearing any hints of excitement in his voice. "Alright, let's go."

The two partners walked side by side in silence through the large corridors to the gate entrance, each one lost in their own minds, strange feelings crawling under the skin. That was a very awkward sensation - it wasn't stage fright neither anxiety... That ordinary narrow corridor transformed into a long distant road to the stage.

May subtly watched Drew's free hand with hesitation. She decided to be the first one to break the silence.

"Drew, there's something I wanted to ask y-"

"_Be my princess, hot stuff!_"

* * *

><p>"Wah!" The brunette girl blushed, trying to find the voice provoking about her looks. "W-what was that?"<p>

"You're beautiful, Miss Coordinator."

On the way to the main stage, two young men started to whistle and tease May, who stared back at them with a helpless and uncomfortable frown. They weren't exactly intimidating or aggresive - but they were bold and taller than the two young partners. The brunette in red couldn't tell if they were also coordinators or only guests standing in the wrong place...

Either way, those guys were pressing her panic button. "T-Thank you?"

That was her first short and sexy dress... Were they being a nuisance just because of her revealing costume?

"Please tell us if you're free for a private appeal, hahaha..."

Some boys often tried to approach her with lame pick up lines and modest compliments (Harley's and Sid's were not so modest but they were, still, quite tame) - however, she had never been harassed before with such shameless remarks. In a typical and ordinary situation, she would just ignore or yell at the two annoying guys... But May found out she didn't know how to react to that kind of scenario.

_What an embarrassing situation!... _Turning her face to Drew, she tried to hide it in discomfort. "Uh..."

"Hey, pretty face!" One of the guys came closer to the rivals and winked to May. "Violate my rights, will ya'? Or should I..."

"I-I..." She tried to talk but words got stuck in her throat. "I..."

"Ooh, princess got embarrassed!" The other one slowly tried to reach her shoulder. "I bet you-"

"_Stop._"

May opened her eyes in surprise. Her slender body was suddenly pushed closer to Drew, who covered her away from the pestering duo.

"Leave her alone," he hissed in a lower tone. "Now."

May instinctively clutched to Drew's arm, trying to find some protection under his guard.

The older guys chuckled at that short boy's attempt to look serious. The tallest one purposely answered the threat with a lazy and daring voice. "Dude, she's asking for it."

"_Asking_ for it?" The green-haired teenager didn't flinch a single millimeter. He kept his voice strong and aggressive. "That's sickening... Get lost or I'll call the staff."

"That's harsh, nobody asked for your opinion... Is she your girlfriend or what," the smaller one asked with a frustrated frown. "Kid... We're just trying to hit on your female companion, get it? No need to get so defensive. Look, she isn't complaining about us. Do you hear her asking us to get lost?"

"It doesn't matter what she is to me!" May's partner declared without changing his expression. "Are you blind or what?"

"_That was a fascinating Solar Beam explosion, look how bright it is up there in the sky! That Sunny Day really powered up Sunfora's Appeal, isn't it incredible? Now, after this powerful solo performance, back to another Tag Appeal! I'd like to call two coordinators from Hoenn..._"

Drew quickly turned his head to the open stage and saw Vivian announcing the beginning of their performance.

"Well, time's up... Next time, try a more intelligent way to approach a lady."

Grabbing May's hand, the green-haired boy elegantly dodged the annoying partners and waltzed to the main stage's entrance gate.

"Airhead, wake up." He poked his rival with his arm, talking in a slightly reprehensive voice. "You can panic later, but now, _please_, get out of that shell... It's not the apropriate time to make that reticent face, c'mon."

"Hey!" The ignored pair shouted, trying to grab May's attention back to them. "We are not finished with-"

"T-That's right! _GET LOST_!"

The girl suddenly broke her silence off and waved her umbrella in rage.

"Argh, don't make me punch you two!" An unexpected burst of courage exploded out of her chest. "Go away, get lost, _leave me alone_! Ugh, don't you dare touching me again... _Meanies_!"

"See, she doesn't have time for mere meanies..." Drew grinned deviously, waving goodbye to the strangers. "Bye, enjoy our show."

* * *

><p>Ignoring the two disillusioned guys behind their backs, the Appeal partners stopped at the gate, waiting for Vivian's signal to start.<p>

"You were going to _punch_ them?" Drew asked his companion in a kind of shocked and amused voice. "Did you really call them '_meanies_'?"

"I'm classy... It's your evil scolding that makes me unelegant." The brunette coordinator pouted, pretending to be proud like a diva. "I have no idea why they were bothering me, I'm just a normal- Ugh, my shoes! I can't really walk with these, they're killing my feet!"

"Gah!" May cursed her red high heels in a not so lady-like manner."It's so hard to be a woman..."

Drew chuckled under his breath, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Hey..." She wrinkled her nose in protest. "What's so funny?"

"Your wild mood-swings and how you were so infuriated that I got no appreciation for rescuing you."

"Hm?" May frowned.

"Well, actually..." The green-haired teen hesitated, yet he squeezed her hand in a gentle but firm grip. "You don't need to thank me, it's my duty to protect you from this kind of trouble. No need to panic, okay? I'm here with you."

"Okay..." She blinked in confusion then blushed in bright pink tones right after noticing she was practically _glued_ to his body. "Ah!..."

No need to be in panic? The surprised girl gasped, feeling her legs get heavier in an awkward way. She would never have imagined before that being protected by Drew was such a big and scary thing...

"_...Let's give a loud and warm reception for May, the Princess of Hoenn! Today she will charm you all with her stunning beauty and her fascinating pokemon!_"

* * *

><p>Feeling her heart racing madly fast, the girl from Petalburg walked into the stage with short and elegant steps to the middle of the arena holding a black umbrella in her right arm.<p>

"Alright, here we go..." She smiled, full of radiance. "Glaceon, take the stage!"

Throwing her pokeball to the spotlight scene, Glaceon appeared wearing one of Harley's blue scarves. The ice fox cried its name in a happy and energetic growl, making many hearts melt and go 'aww' in the audience.

Vivian clapped her hands in excitement. "May called Glaceon, her ace pokemon during her Appeals Sections in Johto's Grand Festival! Look how beautiful coordinator and pokemon look together!"

"And from our wonderful LaRousse City, here comes another very famous coordinator! He's the most admired boy from the Red Roses kingdom... Please let's cheer for Drew, the Prince of Hoenn!"

The crowd started to applaud louder and a deeply mortified Drew narrowed his eyes in surprise - _Prince of Hoenn_? _Who did suggest that gratuitous nickname?_

Somewhere in the crowded audience, a certain purple-haired coordinator jumped in victory, waving a big colorful banner with the words 'GO PRINCE OF HOENN - WE LOVE YOU'. Solidad giggled joyfully while Brianna sighed in passion, trying to take as many pictures as possible.

Drew walked in the stage with majestic steps, holding a scarlet umbrella in his left arm. Flicking his hair like a signature move, he casted his pokeball next to Glaceon. "Absol, go!"

The dark creature appeared on stage also wearing a blue scarf. Absol howled with wild strength, announcing its impacting presence with a mysterious aura.

"Woah! It's Absol!" Vivian shouted to the crowd in awe. "Drew's mythic and destructive pokemon! What surprises will they bring today?"

"And... Wait a minute," She muttered quietly, fixing her microphone and watching May wave her arm as if she had something important to say. "It seems our Princess has a message for all of us. A moment of silence, please!"

May coughed and waited the house quiet down a bit. Bowing like a lady, she waved her left arm to the camera, as if the special message was for someone who was watching her from the big score screens.

"_This is for Harley, a great friend of us! Harley, thank you! We love you!_"

* * *

><p>Drew felt a throbbing vein in his forehead explode. Trying to grin as forced as Ditto's bland smile, he knew that, somewhere in the Convention Center, a certain purple-haired coordinator was screeching and dying in ultimate bliss.<p>

"...Was that really _necessary_?" The boy cringed in pain, feeling an urge to smack down his partner. "_Really_?"

"Well..." The brunette gave him a wry and embarrassed smile. "Promises _are_ promises, right?"

"Glaceon!" May raised her arm to the top of the dome. "_Blizzard_ attack, go!"

She grinned in confidence, watching her partner follow her orders with style and sophistication.

The ice fox raised its head and aimed the cold beam explosion to the center of the stage. It growled in determination, trying to make the attack as efficient as possible.

A small sphere of ice shards slowly started to form the desirable iceberg form - however, it didn't look as natural and large as the ones they had practiced previously.

"It's not working?..." The brunette grimaced, looking fairly worried. "_Blizzard_ is not looking that good... Glaceon, keep trying!"

"Uh..." Drew stared at the top of the dome than looked at his partner with an incredulous expression. "_Sunny Day_."

_Damn. _May bit her lower lip in distress._  
><em>

She forgot _Hail_.

"Absol!" Drew ordered in a serious voice, ignoring his rival's mistake. He kept pretending everything was under their control. "_Swords Dance_!"

"We... We gotta _improvise_, Drew!"

"What?" Her rival raised one eyebrow. "No, wait, we must stick to what we tried practice before! We can't ruin the whole appeal just because-"

"Glaceon, _Ice Beam_! Now!" May shouted, voice slightly tainted with indecision. "To the floor!"

"What?" Drew yelped in surprise.

Glaceon clumsily aimed its attack to the arena's floor, confused about May's unexpected order. A huge freezing beam hit the floor, covering the whole ring with ice in a matter of seconds.

* * *

><p>"Are we in an ice ring now?" Vivian questioned, trying to figure out their next move. "What's going on with May and Drew's Appeal? It doesn't make sense, does it?"<p>

Drew lowered his head and whispered on May's ear. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Okay, this is cold enough for my trick, we need to do this very quickly!" Her heart stopped for a second in trepidation. "It's only a theory, I don't know if this is going to work..."

"... But _trust me_!" May looked at Drew's emerald sharp glare. "I'm not going to disappoint you!"

The boy opened his mouth to argue about her risky decision but something about her eyes didn't let him do it.

"Go, May!" Drew shouted, squeezing her hand once again. "Now!"

Her partner's touch was strong yet gentle; his whisper sent a strange thrill to her spine.

"Glaceon, _Blizzard_ again! You can do it!" She cried, encouraging her pokemon. "I know you can, please let's nail it!"

"Absol, _Night Slash_!" Drew raised his free arm to the top of the dome. "Make it rain, now!"

The two pokemon howled in vitality and concentration, combining their attacks with astonishing precision. Glaceon's eyes glowed in deep blue tones, creating a much bigger crystal ball than before; Absol's precise blade attacks collided with the iceberg, shattering the object into thousands pieces.

The contest partners opened their umbrellas with a graceful movement, synchronized with the blast of ice shards.

"_Oh, wow!_" Vivian exclaimed, holding her microphone with ecstasy. "_What was that intense combination!_"

Drew raised his eyebrows in surprise. Looking from under his umbrella, he noticed the floor was as clear as a mirror; it was reflecting the image of the ice petals falling from the sky. From a higher view, the stage should be probably filled with much more shards than he expected.

"_That's wonderful!_" Vivian exclaimed, trying to describe the skill combination. "_It's a beautiful rain of transparent petals! I cannot explain how gorgeous is this splendid combination!_"

"It... It _worked_?" May muttered to herself, still apprehensive. "We did it?"

A loud explosion of claps and cheers filled up the arena.

* * *

><p>"We did it!" The brunette jumped in joy, closing her umbrella and waving her hands in pure happiness. "Yay, Drew! We did it, wohooo!"<p>

Heading to the backstage in bouncy steps, she shook her partner's hands in excitement, trying to make him celebrate with her.

"May and Drew, you two really proved why you are the heirs of Hoenn!" The announcer lady praised the duo and followed the script by announcing the next coordinator. "Thank you for the magnificent spectacle! Now..."

The lights went immediately off - a programmed act for the following Appeal. "Now, from Johto continent..."

"It was great..." The coordinator boy swept the sweat from his forehead then sighed in relief. "I'm glad it went better than I expected."

"Yay, I can't believe it, we did it Drew, we d_-WOAH_!"

May clumsily stepped without balance on the melted ice ring, making her trip with violence on her high heels.

"Watch out!" Drew quickly held her body, protecting her from the fall.

A loud and sharp collision sound echoed on the ice ring.

"Please welcome our PokeIdol Marina!" On screen, Vivian introduced the next participant of the show. "What will she bring to her fans today?"

Everybody applauded the famous girl from New Bark Town - however, Brianna pointed her finger at the background scenario with worried looks.

"What's wrong?" Solidad noticed something strange going on with the rookie coordinator. She put her hand on the young girl's arm, whispering gently. "Are you okay, Brianna?"

"S-Something happened to them..." The redhead cried in worry to her veteran, looking for help. "They disappeared from the stage in a blink of an eye!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Thank you for the favorites/alerts/reviews and Happy (veeeeeeery) belated Contestshipping Day for all of you!

I've been **so** busy recently, I had no time at all to rewrite my stuff and update my stories, I'm really sorry about this. Thank you very much for the support and lovely comments while I was away, I really wish I could post stuff here weekly but recently it's been impossible for me to handle so many things at the same time! Hopefully I'll get some free time in the next month, wish me good luck~

I'm trying to update this and [When Drew met May] as soon as possible. Meanwhile, I might take few days fixing some typos/rewriting some stuff of older chapters/this current chapter, I keep spotting many many mistakes in my writing /o\

About this chapter... Small Zoey and Dawn cameo here, lol. I decided to present them with knight costumes as an indirect reference to my latest one-shot [Modern Fairytale]... It's a fluffy story, check it out if you like these girls interacting with each other!

Yes, May's hairstyle should be something similar to that one she wore in the ball of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew movie... I thought it looked really cute on her, what do you think? It kind of balance with the sexiness of the dress...

And yeah, I like writing battles and Appeals, I want to explore those better in a future story. Does anybody here enjoy reading Adventure/Romance fics?

**Next chapter:** [The Fall]


	14. Chapter 14: The fall

**Chapter 14: The fall**

* * *

><p><em>"They disappeared from the stage in a blink of an eye!"<em>

Solidad and Haley and immediately had their smiles swapped out for worried looks; the exhibition screens went black without any prior warnings, changing to a promotional ad featuring Marina and a new PokeDex model.

"Wait, what happened?" Solidad raised from her seat.

"May, Mr Drew!" Brianna cried, clutching her hands to her chest. "Somebody help them!"

"Oh my Arceus, my darlings are in danger!" Harley threw away the banner and started panicking, putting his hands on his head. "What should we do?"

"Hold on..." The Top Coordinator gently held her friend's arm, trying to calm him down. "I'll check what happened."

"Mr Harley!" Brianna hugged the Cacturne Man, shaking in concern. "Oh, Mr Harley!..."

"What should we do?_!_" He hugged the tiny girl back, screaming out loud. "Heeeeelp!"

* * *

><p>"Ouch..."<p>

May opened her eyes and saw a broken heel next to her feet. She suddenly realize Drew was actually under her body - the girl immediately called him with a worried voice. "Drew! Drew, are you alright?"

"Ugh..." He groaned and released his arms from his partner, still in shock. "Y-Yeah, don't worry..."

When she slipped on the melting ice, apparently Drew was also dragged to the floor - he tried to pull her body up so she could fall without hurting herself; her face didn't strike the floor but the boy did take all the impact from the accident.

"Ah!" She slapped her forehead then rolled her body to the side, letting him breathe more freely. "There, I'm sorry!"

"Are you two alright?" Vivian and two stage assistants ran next to the two fallen coordinators, crouching next to them. "Did any of you get hurt? Should we call Nurse Joy?"

"I'm alright." Drew raised from the floor in slow movements, trembling lightly due to the cold frozen floor and small minor bruises. "Don't worry about me. May, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah... The brunette frowned, lamenting her broken shoe. "My bad, I slipped on the ice and I made you fall on the floor..."

"I'm glad nobody got hurt... After the break I'm going to turn the microphone on and tell everybody you two are safe and fine, okay?" Vivian walked closer to the two coordinators then looked at Drew's back. "And... Oh. Mr Drew, I think you got a little problem..."

The boy patted on his pants than turned his head to his own back. "Ugh."

"Drew..." May followed his eyes but then regretted looking at it. She blushed, watching her partner stare back at her with concern and discomfort. "I'm sorry."

Drew cursed quietly to himself. Closing his eyes, he offered his hand to the girl. "We talk about this later. Come, for now I'm glad you're not hurt."

"O-Oh." The brunette felt her cheeks burning hotter than a Magmortar when he helped her lift up from the floor. "Thank you..."

Feeling sympathetic about his situation, she gently opened her umbrella and covered his back. "Here, take this."

He took the umbrella from her hands and muttered some angry words in protest, clearly upset about such awkward moment.

"Why..." Drew complaint in defeat, covering his forehead with one of his hands. "I cannot believe this had to happen today..."

"I'm sorry about your pants, that's my fault... At least it's a pretty black underwear? You've got good taste, it's tidy and stylish! It's not a bad view."

He didn't expect hearing that odd and spontaneous comment from May.

The green-haired coordinator frowned for an instant but then he laughed, mildly amused with the _unexpected praise moment_. "Are you trying to cheer me up with cheesy lines?"

"Yeah..." She looked away, giggling and trying to hide her embarrassment. "_Maybe_."

Drew supressed a smile under a cough.

"Either way, I'm really sorry, Drew! I owe you one..."

He just wanted to laugh without being judged and make her look back at him but-

"Oh, no. More guys from PokeMagazine..." May's eyes went wide open in surprise. She whispered in horror, grabbing Drew's arm. "Eh, not now!"

Drew jumped away from his partner after being touched then furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief. Two journalists from a popular magazine were walking to their direction, ready to take dozen of pictures and ask awkward questions about the fall...

"Is that a _joke_?" He muttered under his breath, openly disgusted with his own bad luck. "What the heck, is the world conspiring against me today?"

"I'm going to distract them," the brunette girl declared to her partner with confidence, walking away from him. "Get out of here!"

"W-Wait!" The green-haired boy scowled at his partner. "What?"

"Don't say a word!" May ordered in a hurried voice. "Go away!"

The brunette coordinator faked the brightest smile and opened her arms to the two curious women in high heels. "Hey! How are you girls, I bet you want to know all the juicy stuff about our Tag Appeal, right?"

"Follow me, you may interview him later, I gotta tell you a secret first..." She playfully shook her broken shoe with a sheepishly smile. "Hahaha, I'll explain what happened!"

Drew watched in silence his rival dragging the attention away from him. He discreetly walked away to the backstage rooms, dialing Solidad's PokeDex number and praying to be answered as soon as possible.

* * *

><p>"It was a false alarm," Drew said while taking off his hat and adjusting himself in the corner of the dressing room. "It was a loud snap but nobody got hurt, May got scared and screamed out loud in shock."<p>

He checked his PokeNav and saw Solidad's private message - good, she was almost there fo help. "Just another May's typical mistake."

"We heard from the stage assistants you guys got a bit injured, we were so worried..." Dawn leaned on the door, hugging her fake plastic sword. "I'm glad you two are okay."

"My pants aren't, though." Drew complained, crossing his arms and sinking his back on the wall. "I got a stupidly huge rip on them."

The green-haired boy didn't mind mentioning about the incident at all - after all, nobody else had seen what exactly happened and, in a few minutes, Solidad would bring him a new pair of pants and the discussion would be over.

In older days, Drew would have freaked out and shot himself in shame; however, he was actually so relieved for escaping from a stage failure that all what mattered now was a fresh drink and a comfortable chair to rest...

...And return home and talk to May.

To his surprise, Zoey and Dawn giggled in a friendly way.

"These things happen with the best coordinators," the redhead Top Coordinator said in a reassuring voice. "We all have our share of lame and funny stories."

"Zoey is right!" The blue-haired coordinator shrugged. "Once I tripped on my shoes and I was wearing a miniskirt... Can you imagine the horror it is for a girl?"

"Oh, is Drew inside?"

A third familiar voice joined the conversation on the other side of the door.

"Drew, can I open the door?"

"Oh... May." Drew blinked, blushing a bit. "It's unlocked, come in."

"I've just called Solidad, she's almost here," the brunette said in a tired and hurried voice. "Pfeh! It's over..."

She sat by his side, leaning on him in a timid but gentle way.

May didn't need to say anything; somehow her touch was enough to make the boy understand everything she needed at that exact moment. He knew she wanted to chat about the Appeal and the crowd's positive reactions - but her desire to rest and stay a moment in silence with Drew, only him, won her completely.

He wouldn't deny her wish - that was actually his wish too.

"Uhh... See you two later!" Dawn bit the tip of her lips, feeling the awkwardness in the air... She definitely wasn't as dense as Ash. "Don't forget to call me!"

Before she could leave the corridor with Zoey, a pair of tall journalists with glasses interrupted the awkward farewell.

"Good evening, that was a wonderful show! Mr Drew, do you mind giving us a minute for a short interview?"

"Wait, he's..." The brunette protested in a worried voice, unsure how she should react to that request. "Drew is..."

"It's fine. Let them do their job, May."

Drew answered in a calm voice, shaking his head in annoyance. "No need to freak out, you need to get used to that if you want to be famous."

The brunette coordinator opened her mouth to protest but her partner quickly dismissed her with a soft tapping on her shoulder. "You're the Princess of Hoenn, aren't you?"

"Do you mind...?" One reporter leaded May and the girls to the corridor, splitting the coordinators in two different places.

The young cunning woman who didn't leave the room with the girls smiled, fixing her square glasses on her face. "Great, now we have some privacy."

"Are you sure you're comfortable there?" The journalist watched the boy glue himself to the small and hard chair next to the emergency exit. "We can record the interview on the sofa, I think it might be more comfortable for you..."

"I'm fine here." Drew grinned in a perfect smile, apparently looking relaxed yet feeling a sweat drop drip down his neck. "This is going to be quick, right?"

"So, today was a fantastic presentation even though..." The young lady interrupted herself after noticing how Drew was staring back at her with an enigmatic and cryptic look. "It's okay, mistakes happen! Don't worry. Nobody got hurt, this is what really matters."

"May told us how she fell on the floor and made that huge noise. Don't worry, she's fine and laughing about her clumsiness..." She completed her words with a warm smile and a few questions. "Anyway, was that a preview of what you're going to show us in the next season? That was surely incredible! Where are you going to compete?"

Drew mentally noted to himself that May took the blame to herself and edited him off the messed up story.

"I'm probably heading to Sinnoh, they host a different kind of Contests there..." The boy answered in a veiled voice tone. "I'm not sure yet, though."

"Interesting. Hopefully you will surprise everybody else like you always do!" The journalist fixed her mini recorder on her purse, still paying a lot of attention to Drew's words. He was a smart and polite teenager; however, his expressions were always very hard to read. "By the way, what do you think about your new fan nickname? Do you enjoy being the new prince on stage?"

"Oh..._ The Prince of_ _Hoenn_?" The young coordinator blinked then tried to change the subject, avoiding any discussions about the _Princess_ of Hoenn. "Uh, well... That's an honor, my fans are really supportive and they are very interested about my work. I'll do my best conquer the title of King."

The journalist smiled. The famous prodigy boy always had a sharp answer under his tongue, huh? He was really an interesting kid to interview.

"Okay, last one before I stop bothering you... Now, for our gossip pages! What do you think about May? Do you think your partner will confess about her feelings to her friend from Pallet Town? How do you feel being like an old brother to her?"

* * *

><p>Drew froze for a second. "Huh?"<p>

"You see, we interviewed May few minutes ago but she was really fast changing the topic. She talked about today's Appeal, her family, her friends, her contest rivals... You know, we are suspicious that she got special feelings for Ash Ketchum, an old friend who used to travel with her. Well, after seeing you two working together so perfectly... We don't know what's going on."

_What's going on?_

"Anyway, as it was expected..." The woman chuckled behind her notepad. "_Everybody_ wants to know about May's love life."

The boy raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"We've asked some coordinators' fans about that hot topic and it seems _you_'re the key point of our elusive answer. Do you know what's inside her heart?"

Drew frowned. It was impossible to avoid changing his relaxed expression to an annoyed one. "...That has nothing to do with me."

"Well, we thought that, maybe... Since you're probably her closest friend, you..." The young journalist noticed the radical mood change in the room. She carefully stopped talking for a second before completing her question, twirling a pen in her fingers. "You know, maybe you can tell us more about what happens between you three. Just a small peek? Don't worry, it will be a material for May's interview clip, not yours."

"There's nothing going on between us." He offered an objective and simple answer. "And I don't know Ash Ketchum at all. He is May's close friend, not mine."

"Exactly!" The journalist raised her index finger in the air. "She said exactly the same thing as you! Since there's nothing going on between you two, could you tell us the small little bits you know about Ash and May's relationship? We can source you as an anonymous contributor if that makes you feel more at ease."

The boy felt an urge to hit his head on the wall but held himself to avoid another embarrassing moment. "Pardon me?"

His PokeNav rang once: a new private message. Solidad was finally back to the Convention Center.

Drew finally got up from the chair, revealing the big and large rip in the back of his trousers.

"Please, it's just a small trivia for our-" The woman opened her eyes in surprise. "Oh. Drew?..."

"Ask somebody else, I just don't know." He just walked away, ignoring his exposed underwear and answering the last question in a plain and stoic manner. "May and Ash are close friends. May and I... We are only_ rivals_."

* * *

><p>May changed from her formal dress to her regular outdoors clothing. The coordinator sighed in relief when she took off her heels and the tight dress, though she kind of regretted releasing the hair clips... She decided then to keep the fancy hairstyle for later.<p>

Drew said it was just okay but at least _he noticed it_. Better an '_okay hairstyle'_ than a 'what, this is _just hair_'.

She kept dreamily staring at the walls, touching her forehead in embarrassment.

_What a crazy day..._

"Where's Drew?" The brunette tried to dial her partner but no one was answering her calls. "C'mon, answer me..."

"Right here."

The boy appeared behind her, holding his folded clothes in his arms. "I'm leaving. Feel free to stay here at CW if you want, I'm off."

"Did you shrink?" May giggled, noticing Drew's very long black pants almost covering his shoes. "I thought you were taller, hehe."

"That's the only thing Solidad could buy in fifteen minutes." Drew shook his head negatively. A soft red color appeared from the base of his neck to the top of his head. "Don't start... This is _your_ fault, remember?"

"Oh..." The girl pouted, feeling honestly guilty about the fall. She also noticed the slightly aggressive tone of his voice. "It was my fault, you're right. You don't deserve to have your boxers exposed on the cover of the next PokeMagazine or Coordinator's Weekly, everything happened that way because of me- Ah, forget it, I'm screwing it up again!_ I'm so sorry,_ I'm really sorry, Drew..."

"Oh, really." Her rival cringed at such obvious statement. It was an awful irony to see that May's comment was probably going to turn into reality soon. "How great."

"It didn't end that well but at least we did great on stage with our pokemon!" She raised her index finger in an explanation pose. "Sorry, had to use my guts instead of our plans. Exactly like Ash does, but-"

Watching May make the same gesture as the interviewer and mention that name again, Drew snapped.

"This might work in battles but it doesn't work in Contests, May! It's not because he is your friend and ex-teacher that you must follow everything he says, stop worrying about hurting his pride and start coordinating it right!"

She touched his weak point at his limit.

It felt like a huge mirror falling from the wall and shattering into a hundred pieces.

"Could you stop talking about him for a second?" He clenched his fists in annoyance, looking clearly bothered about something. "Stick to the plan unless it's an urgent emergency, what if your cheap trick didn't work? It would have been a mess! We would fail it, _badly_!"

"Oh." Not expecting such grave comment from her partner, May glared at him with a surprised look on her face. "Wait, what?..."

"Ash Ketchum uses brute force instead of using his brains. Wake up, that guy isn't any genius! He is a good and lucky Pokemon Trainer but he's not a Coordinator! You need to use your brains, not your guts! You're a Coordinator or a Savage? Answer me!"

"I told you, I'm really sorry- _Huh, Ash?_" Why was Drew insulting him? "Hey... Ash is my friend and I won't let you say rubbish about him, c'mon. What did you say? Who are you to tell me that wasn't solely my mistake, who says that my... _Indecision slip_ happened because of Ash?! He has nothing to do with that, are you crazy?"

"It's so plain and obvious..." Flicking his hair and dodging her disappointed stare, the green-haired coordinator commented in an acid tone. "Your brother, Brianna, your chubby fan, the whole media, yourself... I think you're the only one who doesn't notice how much you miss Ash and how you can't stop talking about him all the time. Ash this, Ash that. Did you count how many times you've said his name since we arrived in LaRousse?"

May's deep sapphire eyes stared at Drew's angry emerald eyes in shock, unsure if she had just heard him say that comment. She blushed, feeling undeniably offended.

"Don't you think it's time to move on, if he really cared he would find a way to convince you to keep traveling with him or at least try to keep in touch with you decently... But of course not, he's too busy in his own personal quest, why should he care about your feelings? Even_ Harley_ takes care of you better than Ash does! Isn't that suspicious?"

"Drew, that's sick!... So what, Ash is one of my best friends! So what, he doesn't stalk me or talk to me everyday, I can count on him, he can count on me and that's enough! And I would never, _NEVER_ betray Misty, you don't know a word you're talking about! Why are you so angry about Ash?! _Are you jealous of him_?"

"Why?" Drew groaned. "_Why?_! Stop lying to me and tell me the truth! Stop playing with me! Stop playing the fake innocent girl, tell me the truth! May-"

Fake?

"_Fake innocent girl?_" She hissed in disbelief. "How dare you calling me that! So, you want to listen to the truth, huh? Really, the real truth?"

"Yes, I do!" He shouted back in an aggressive manner. "The _real truth_!"

"Fine, then listen to me! I hate how you are arrogant with people you THINK that are weaker than you. I hate how you're too harsh with people and pokemon who are trying to do their best!"

Holding back the tears, May closed her fists in anger and started to speak faster and in a high-pitched tone. "I hate how you refuse to listen, you don't hear what you don't want, even Solidad don't talk about Contests with you anymore because you're too stubborn! I hate how nasty you can be, I say something nice about you and I get a slap in answer!"

"Oh great, now you're going to say I'm all the _seven deadly sins?_!" Drew sighed, evidently irritated. "Not that again..."

"I hate how I can't understand you... And I get so sad, you talk badly about my friends when they've never disrespected you and I simply don't get it. It drives me crazy how I can never be good enough for you. It hurts me I can't get your respect, _it's so frustrating_!... Guh, why are you so gentle and sweet with Brianna? Why do you give her so many chances?"

"Do you think I am not gent-"

"Stop interrupting, listen to me first!" She cried, clenching her fists in distress. "Then why you didn't help me when Sid bothered me few days ago? Why did you have to mock me in front of Brianna? You mock Ash but he does respect you, why can't you do the same to him! Why can't you trust anyone? Can't you trust me? I want to trust you, Drew! I want you to trust me, I want to know you! Can't you see that?"

"...I told you to not trust anyone that time because you're too gullible!" Drew quickly tried to defend himself, dodging his eyes from that crushed saddened glare. "C'mon, I told you this exact line like, _three Grand Festivals ago_? When Harley used to catfight you for real? May, you really don't know what you're babbling about... This is really pointless and-"

"_That_ again! See, I'm always the problem for you! You always answer me back instead of accepting the fact you could, maybe, be totally wrong! You do have a golden heart but this arrogance of yours is a huge problem. You know what, Harley was right. You're too stubborn. I don't deserve hearing all of this. I'm going."

The girl walked away in irregular steps. Her head was about to explode.

"Going where?"

"Why should I answer you, you barely listened to- _Whatever, I don't care_, I am going to the opposite side as you're going." The brunette raised her voice in warning. "Stay away from me."

Running after May, Drew held her arm.

"May... Stop."

She stopped walking away but refused to look at him.

"Are you crazy..." He asked bluntly, eyes burning in confusion. "What are you trying to do?"

"I am not crazy, Drew, _YOU_ drive me crazy. Let me go."

Drew groaned, then lowered his head to calm down himself... Things went completely out of their control.

"Hmpf, okay... Look, I might have pushed you too much these days, I guess there are many misunderstandings going on between us. About Ash, you're right, he can do whatever he wants and that's not my problem. I still think he should take care better of you if he thinks you're his special friend or whatsoever. About Sid, c'mon, you truly don't care about hi-"

"_SHUT UP_!"

_[SLAP!]_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Hang on there, we are almost in the end of this story! Only few chapters left before the final episode! O:

Next chapter, [The break].


	15. Chapter 15: The break

**Welcome Home chapter 15: The break**

* * *

><p>"<em>SHUT UP!<em>"

May angrily slapped Drew's face with all the strength she had in her right hand. Disgusted and hurt, she threw all the disappointment, anger and sadness mixed feelings she had inside her chest on is face.

The brunette coordinator panted heavily, like she had just ran a very long marathon. It felt like if she had been deprived of air for a long and despairing time - breathing fast and letting the oxygen easy her mind, she stared at her own hands with a concerned expression.

Shifting her gaze at Drew, May expected seeing a pair of angry and annoyed green eyes staring back at her. She expected him to be very offended, wanting to slap her back as a deserved comeback... But she was wrong.

He was far from being angry; her stage partner was shocked and confused. Touching the burning skin on his face, Drew finally realized how hard May had hit him - she definitely didn't hold down her strength.

"May..."

Drew was really surprised; however, above all these emotions, what he felt was a bitter and dry taste of frustration in his mouth.

His rival was hurt. What she was feeling probably hurt more than a slap would do..._ What was he doing?_

"This..." The boy looked away, unable to express himself very clearly. "...This is messed up."

She was already fazed by their heated argument - however, that single comment blew her heart into pieces.

May closed her arms around her chest, trying to dodge her eyes away from Drew.

That was undoubtedly messed up. Why were they arguing and fighting against each other? Why did she feel so offended by his words? What about their waltz, she was about to let him get closer and—

"I-I... I can't." Almost tumbling down the ground, May clumsily walked away from Drew. "I'm really sorry..."

The green-haired boy was caught off-guard; he followed her and grabbed her wrist in a tight grip, refusing to let her go. They had to end this, the damage was done but they had to do something about it. "Look, wait—"

"Stop.. Don't touch me!"

May didn't know what was that irrational fear trying to take control over her body. She had to put some order inside her mind; but first, she needed some space to breath, immediately.

"Let me go..."

Drew tried to reach her but she clearly didn't want to get closer to him. He frowned, still very confused and hurt - yet worried about her defensive answer. "Wait a minute, I..."

"_Please_!" She pulled away from his grip and cried in answer, holding back some tears. "Leave me alone, stop it!..."

"We need to t—" The boy retreated his hand away from her wrist - however, she didn't let him finish his words and ran away without looking back.

Drew stared at May disappearing in the horizon with eyes wide opened, in a mix of numbness and surprise. His right cheek was burning but nothing compared to the strange pain that was stinging inside his stomach.

Everything had just slipped out his of control, leaving him behind and alone by himself.

* * *

><p>"Sol..." Harley put his hands on his hips in a bossy way, looking at his friend with a suspicious eye. "What are you scheming today?"<p>

The Top Coordinator noticed her younger friends were avoiding her for some unknown reason. After two hours without receiving any calls, Solidad received a short SMS from May informing that she was very tired and wanted to take the rest of the day to sleep in peace... Oddly enough, Drew didn't send her any single life signal - and he was usually the first one to answer her messages.

"Hmm, me?" Solidad raised her eyebrows, slightly puzzled. "I don't know what are you talking about..."

"Are you trying to stalk the lovebirds?" The Cacturne man tried to peek at Solidad's PokeDex screen, walking on the tip of his toes. "I wanna join you, let me do it, pretty please!"

"I'm just checking if the two of them are alright," she answered politely. "See, I'm not doing anything."

_[Yeah, you two deserve to rest. Congratulations for the Tag Appeal, May. You were simply amazing! See you tomorrow, cheers.]_

_[Drew, are you at home now? Call me.]_

"Just checking if they went home safely..." She waved her hand, closing her device and placing it inside her pocket. "...Hey, look! Isn't that Robert, the Hoenn Top Coordinator from two years ago?"

"Yeah, it's the man who defeated Mr Drew in the finals..." Brianna nodded timidly, grabbing a small notebook from her bag. "I wonder if he will give me an autograph..."

"Robert is a very nice guy, let's talk to him." Solidad smiled, glancing quickly at her taller friend. "Would you like to join us, Harley?"

"Only if I get an autograph too," He answered with a bored frown in his face. "But I want to see May first and ask where did the little twerp get that gorgeous dress... Where did she go?"

"I'm sure we can meet them later, don't worry."

Something definitely happened behind the stage: being respectful to their silence, she tried to distract Harley and Brianna with other activities while the two teenagers refused saying a word about what was going on.

Solidad sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

* * *

><p>May just wanted to run far away and disappear from the world for a moment. She kept running until she noticed Drew wasn't following her anymore.<p>

Still sobbing a bit, the coordinator dried her tears with the back of her wrist, breathing heavily and slowly. May felt her chest was aching in confusion and troubled emotions; she was still angry and sad about what Drew triggered few minutes earlier - but, at the same time, a pinch of regret started to grow inside her.

_Did she mean those words for real?_ Maybe she had been more sincere than courtesy allowed her to be... Maybe she didn't mean to say some few unnecessary things out of frustration. She wasn't supposed to slap him either, even though a tiny part of her wanted to say it was well deserved...

May was very proud of her spontaneous and emotive personality... But this time it made her feel really stupid.

Almost instinctively, she removed the flower clips from her hair - somehow it felt pointless to look pretty now.

The brunette walked in circles around the automatic streets, feeling her stomach heavy in a strange way. For hours it was a little hard to breath, even though her body wasn't exactly tired from physical activity. She felt dizzy, trapped and really, _really_ small.

Sitting on a sidewalk, the distressed girl tried to calm down herself and, afraid of bumping accidentally into any familiar face, she searched in her pockets for a certain PokeNav number. Maybe it would be for the best to not go back to Drew's house...

"Please, answer me..."

Doing her best to fake the most casual voice, she dialed that friend as soon as her body stopped trembling. _Why was she feeling so anxious?_

"Hi! It's May... So, is your invitation still up?..."

* * *

><p>Drew walked aimlessly in the city, not paying attention to the people neither to the block robots around him.<p>

That fight was simply too much resentment to digest in a single day. The humiliating slap scene kept playing inside his mind, repeating over and over. Her angry and sharp glare was merciless, it felt like a huge rock crushing him in a violent blow... To make it worse, he honestly thought he deserved those.

It was a real nightmare completely out of his control.

He didn't see any sight or signals of May during the rest of the evening. As the sky started to get darker, the boy tried to dial her PokeNav number - but he didn't get any answers.

The green-haired boy stared at a mirrored wall, watching the faint slap marks on his face. After few seconds trying to empty his mind, Drew raised his eyes and noticed how he didn't recognize the buildings around him. Perhaps it was time to return to his house - even though he just wanted to sit down and bury himself under the ground in frustration.

Being unable to talk to May worried him a bit - at the same time, it was a relief since he didn't want anymore to face her that soon... However, thinking about that didn't help Drew feel better at all. His fear of rejection was as dreadful as the lack of resolution in their discussion.

They were rivals. Partners. Perhaps good friends... But not close friends neither something deeper?

Why, why was she so close yet so far away? What did exactly he mean to her? Why did he act like an idiot then? Why was his mind so blurred with conflicted feelings? Drew really wanted to trick himself and believe this was a simple and misunderstood crush... But lying about his true wishes wouldn't change the truth.

He took the train back to his house, holding his PokeNav in his hands. He struggled against his pride for a long time before trying to message May - it was hard to type something short yet nice but not too concerned, Drew had no idea of what his rival was thinking and he didn't want to hurt her again with unwanted arguments... The final result ended up being only three words.

[_Where are you?_]

* * *

><p>"I brought us some yummy chips, am I allowed to enter?"<p>

"Of course you can stay here... Empty hands or not, you'll always be my guest!"

Brianna smiled kindly, opening the door to her guest. She was quite startled for that unexpected phone call but happy to have May in her room that night: after all, the coordinator from Petalburg was not only an idol but also a great friend...

"I'm glad you will be my company tonight, May! It's a great honor to have you here... It's not a big place but I hope it's comfortable enough for both of us!"

Swablu Hotel was a very small place and old place near the Convention Center - but it was at least a tidy and clean room. The walls and the furniture were painted in light blue and white colors, resembling the flying avian pokemon.

"Eh? No, please don't say that!" The brunette closed the door, bowing her head quickly and politely. She shook her head, trying to not worry her friend. "I know how hard it was to find a hotel in LaRousse this week... This place is great!"

"Yeah, it was hard to find this but the effort was totally worth it!" Brianna picked up May's purse and placed it on her luggage in the corner of the room. "Did you bring your pajamas with you?"

"Oh..." The brunette bit her lower lip in tension. She faked an excuse with a sheepishly slime on her face. "Oh, silly me... I forgot that, haha."

"I'm sorry, I don't think my extra pajamas will fit you..." Placing her hands over her head, Brianna apologized with a timid head shake. "Ahh, this is so embarrassing!"

"Hahaha, don't worry... It won't be a problem, really." May smiled to her friend, taking off her shoes. "It's only one night. Tomorrow I'll grab my stuff and get nice and clean clothes, don't worry about that!"

"Are you sure?" The brunette answered her friend with a nod. "Well... Alright, then we're all good."

"Thank you for everything," May spoke in a low but sincere voice, fidgeting with her fingers. "I'm sorry for being such a bother, Brianna. I don't want to spoil your fun with my gloomy mood..."

"Don't say that!" The redhead girl jumped on the bed, hugging a pillow in her arms. "It's been an amazing week, I'm glad I didn't give up on getting my tickets to CW! So many great coordinators, everything looks so pretty and cool! And..."

"...I understand you must be sad about the Tag Appeal but cheer up," with a sympathetic smile, the redhead whispered with a gentle voice, blushing a little. "I know you two really worked hard for the show... Everybody found that amazing and we're glad you didn't get hurt."

May stared at the ceiling, trying to mask the troubled expression on her face. "It was supposed to be perfect... But I made it an awful mess."

"That's not true!" It was Brianna's turn now to fidget with her fingers in anxiety. "I loved the exhibition anyway, mistakes happen to anyone, May! I liked it a lot, Glaceon is so cute and cool! You should be very proud of your team...!"

"It was really beautiful, it will be tough to compete against you next time we fight!" The younger coordinator smiled, trying to cheer up her idol. "I don't care if any fan magazine says it was bad or funny. You and Drew will always have my respect and support! I know you two are incredible!"

"Thank you..."

"I hope someday I can be as good as you and perform with Mr Drew in a Tag Appeal like yours! My team is very dedicated but we've got lots of training to do... Watching you compete and stand by Mr Drew's side as an equal is very inspirational for me, May!"

"Thank you, Brianna..."

"I really mean it! You're my rival but I really admire your attitude! I wish I could be as brave as you... Gee, I would never be able to stand by his side and face him the way you do!"

Compliments like that should make her smile; however, Brianna's motivating words caused a mixed reaction inside May's thoughts.

It was_ too overwhelming_. A strange and strong force was crushing everything inside her body... Frustration? Regret? Pain? Sorrow? Guilty?

May suddenly started crying for a reason she couldn't exactly understand by herself.

"Huh..." Brianna motioned forward to touch her friend's back, hoping she would stop feeling bad and calm down. "...W-What's wrong?"

The brunette tried to hold her tears, yet it looked like an effort gone in vain. Her expression remained fairly rigid but tears kept rolling down her cheek, out of her control. "Nothing..."

"Hm, u-uh..." Looking at her own feet, Brianna hesitated, unable to directly stare back at May's eyes. ""I'll get you something to drink, one second..."

"Oh, this is so awkward..." May hid her face behind her palms, clearly uncomfortable about her sudden emotional burst. "I just... Screwed up again. I'm sorry, today was a stressful day..."

The younger coordinator quickly pulled a bottle of water from inside her bag and offered it to her veteran.

"Screwed up?..."

The younger teenager waited in silence for an answer; however, May stood in silence with slumped shoulders, tears flowing quietly.

Watching her friend sob and hold her chest in pain felt like a small blade pulling the strings in her heart - even though May didn't hint her rival's name, Brianna slowly realized that was something about Drew. The redhead opened her mouth in shock, unable to hide her surprise.

"Then— Something else happened in the show."

May nodded, wiping out the tears from her face. She was too ashamed of herself to talk about that.

Brianna closed her lips, mixed feelings fighting for her attention inside her head. Drew, May, Drew and May... It saddened her how thinking about the two coordinators made her so happy in some situations and so devastated in other ones.

She lowered her eyes and for a moment, trying to sort a good and polite answer out of her undecided heart. "May, did you..."

Offering her crying veteran a yellow handkerchief, Brianna smiled with a pinch of sadness and decided to not finish her words.

* * *

><p>Drew opened the door and, as expected, no one was there waiting for him. Empty living room, stairs, corridor, bathroom and bedroom.<p>

After roaming around his house, he sat down on the sofa and checked out his PokeNav once again, lights still off. It was hard to believe, but during the whole evening, there was only a single opened message in his inbox page.

_[Drew, are you at home now? Call me.]_

Feeling melancholic, the green-haired boy tossed his stuff on the table then decided to drag himself to the kitchen - it was better to do something to not dwell in frustration. He had to make his mind busy with anything else but his rival. That was going to be a long and complicated night...

Drew would always cook his food in silence and follow the recipe's steps by heart - yet this time he put a loud music on the radio and wrote down the ingredient list of his recipe on a paper. He needed some predictable tasks and busy thoughts to go through that sour moment. The boy didn't touch the pink-stained apron neither released his pokemon to avoid thinking about May.

_[Beep, Beep!]_

He needed some order in his dinner, not reminiscences of his stupid actions.

The sound of his device made him jump in surprise. After almost cutting his finger in distraction, he ran to check his PokeNav: it gave him a glimpse of hope in his eyes, until he started reading the message.

_[I don't know what happened but I'm worried about you. Are you at home now? Drew, call me.]_

Drew muted Solidad from his device in an outburst of disappointment. Now he really didn't want to face the truth neither tell anyone what was going on inside his chest.

The boy returned to his knife then methodically prepared the last ingredients and condiments, tasting some samples to find the perfect flavor balance. Drew was slowly rescuing the control of his mixed and strange emotions, feeling focused enough to prepare a great dish. However, while boiling the water, he stared at the package of noodles and sensed an old sealed memory being reloaded in his thoughts.

"May's favorite food..."

The green-haired teenager sighed in defeat, pursing his lips. What a bad idea.

Thoughts started escaping from Drew's head before he could do anything to stop them. Looking around the kitchen, small insignificant details started to haunt him; the rose petals on the floor, the few strawberries left on the fruit basket, the peaceful scenario framed by the windows that she talked so much about...

And that made him feel incredibly stupid.

He realized his feelings, managed to get closer to her, it was his chance... And now the room was empty and silent. No pokemon running around the stairs, neither May laughing and having fun with everybody.

Staring at the noodle package with annoyance, Drew violently threw it on the wall.

* * *

><p>"Are you excited for the cocktail party in the end of the week?"<p>

Brianna was the first one to break the silence, blushing lightly while staring at the ceiling. She always wanted really badly to talk about Drew with May... But not in a situation like theirs now. "I've heard from Harley that _Koffing and the Toxics_ will come from Unova and play for us!"

The two coordinator girls were lying down the floor, avoiding looking at each other in a mix embarrassment and respect. After May's unexpected breakdown, they were both stuck into an awkward situation.

"It's probably going to be nice," the brunette rested her arms over her stomach, breathing slowly. "I called my mother few hours ago... She's near LaRousse already. I think I'm going home tomorrow."

"You're not staying for the party?..." The timid redhead spoke with a pinch of disappointment, curling up her body in a ball. "Why?"

"My Mom will arrive with Max soon." May looked away, staring at a wall. "She's helping Dad with some Gym work, I'm going to Fortree City with her then we will go back to home."

"Oh." Brianna blinked then shook he arms in disappointment. "You guys should stay, it will be fun!..."

She anxiously bit her own tongue in self-restrain, regretting the indirect mention to Drew in her words. "Ah... I-I mean, you and your family should stay!"

May noticed the uneasiness in the air and couldn't help but smile at her friend's clumsy attempt to correct herself. In the midst of strange feelings and embarrassment boiling inside her chest, the brunette felt a little better after seeing Brianna so worried about being gentle and nice to her - it made her realize what a sulky guest she was and how definitely her friend didn't deserve that.

The brunette pouted a bit in a reflexive state, trying to come up with a good answer.

_Don't think about him. She has nothing to do with that argument!_

"Well... I don't want to make them wait for me too long, haha." The older coordinator forced a laugh and closed her eyes, thoughtfully. "It was fun while it lasted..."

She sat down on the floor then opened her purse, picking up the red passport. Removing the party ticket from the last page of the booklet, the brunette turned her body to Brianna then placed the colorful voucher on the bed.

"Please give it to someone else," she instructed her friend with a tiny smile on her lips. "Make someone happy with this ticket, will you? Like... A nice _desperate boy_."

"Huh?" Brianna raised her head and held the ticket in her hands, slightly puzzled about May's innuendo. "_Nice desperate boy_?_"_

"I might be wrong but I think that might be a perfect event to find a _babe_ for him..." The brunette giggled softly, rolling her eyes out. "Hey, don't you think he's going to love it?"

The young redhead blinked then stared at May with eyes wide opened.

"..._Sid?_ Oh, May!" She laughed in a warmly way, feeling more relaxed now. "Yeah, I bet he's going to love this, hahaha! But what he wants the most—"

"—That's why he must meet cute girls!" May interrupted, cheeks getting a little pink. "It will be good for him, right?"

"Hahaha!" Brianna chuckled bashfully, hiding her smile behind the ticket. "He'll enjoy meeting new pretty coordinator girls... Or take that as May's fantastic flirting! Are you going with him to the Pink Sanctuary thing?"

"D-Don't say that!"

The girls were now giggling and laughing together; they opened a bag of chips and shared some stories about the CW, talking about their new findings and Harley's fabulous stories. The mood in the air got slightly better than few minutes ago - that deadly silence wasn't haunting the two coordinators anymore.

However, the redhead was slightly insecure about the directions of their conversation - how both of them were obviously avoiding Drew's name. Was he angry at May? And what exactly would disturb him so much to the point it would make her cry the way she did?

"Uhh... Did you tell anyone you're here tonight? I mean, you're safe here but..."

"Hm..." May held her PokeNav in her hands and stared at the bright menu screen. She didn't want to call him but her friend's remark made her feel quite guilty. "Should I call Drew?..."

"Of course you should?" Brianna frowned in a mix of suspicious and sad expression. "He must be worried about you. I... I can message him if you want."

"Could you?" The brunette asked with a polite smile in her lips. "Thank you!"

"Uh, of course..."

The redhead grabbed the PokeNav from her purse and dialed her idol three times; he didn't answer any of her call. She tried to send him a SMS instead - and, surprisingly, the PokeNav noticed the message was immediately opened after it was sent.

He was obviously waiting for a message from a specific sender.

"Oh..." Brianna pretended to not be affected by that conclusion and just headed to the small bathroom. "I'll brush my teeth, hang on a minute."

She locked the door and sat down on the floor, quickly gathering the puzzle pieces in her head. May was calmer now that they were chatting about fun stuff, she was probably okay now... But Brianna couldn't let the question fleet away from her hands. She needed some honest answers - or else her heart would explode in anxiety.

* * *

><p>"<em>It's a whole new world we live in, do-do-do, do, do-do... It's a whole new way to see, do-do-do, do, do-do...<em>"

May patiently waited for Brianna on the other side of the door, grabbing her purse and hugging it tightly. After she ended singing two songs and a half, the hesitant coordinator left the bathroom, holding a clean towel in her arms.

"Here, feel free to use some hot water..." She nodded her head to the narrow shower box besides the sink. "It was a long day, wasn't it?"

"Thank you!" The brunette clasped her hands together, feeling more relieved than she thought she would be. "That's all I needed... How can I thank you for your hospitality?"

It wasn't the best moment for that question - but Brianna didn't want to lose the first cue to end the mystery. She blurted out the question before any regret could stop her.

"What happened between you two?"

"Huh, Sid?..."

"You know what I'm talking about, May."

Brianna's voice wasn't aggressive, yet it was clearly stronger and more objective than usual.

May gulped in tension, wishing she didn't need to reply to her friend's question. She slowly lowered her shoulders, eyes lost in her thoughts.

"We... We had a fight earlier today. He got angry, then I got mad at him... It was awful."

"Oh..."

Brianna closed her eyes, pouting in a sad frown. "I hope you two manage to solve this, I don't like when my friends are unhappy..."

"D-Don't worry... It's nothing that can be solved but it's not that bad!..."

The younger coordinator frowned, slightly confused. "I don't get it... This is so unfair."

"_Unfair_?..." The brunette muttered slowly, trying to interpret those cryptic words. "What exactly is unfair about it?"

Brianna handled the towel to her veteran then looked away, a bit reluctant about telling all the hidden feeling inside her chest.

"May... Do you remember the first time we met? You told me you never thought about... " The short girl stared at her feet, slightly self-conscious about the delicate subject. "Uh, certain things."

"Oh... Yeah, I remember our first Contest together. But... I am not very sure about what you're talking about, what certain things?"

The younger teenager furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"So that means you still have never thought about your feelings about him, huh? After all this time? You traveled with him for a whole continent and not a single idea popped up in your mind?"

"Ahhh?" The brunette girl tilted her head to the side, raising her eyebrows in surprise. She coughed a few times and put the towel on her head, trying to hide the uneasiness of their situation. "My feelings?..."

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you? Don't lie to me, please..." The redhead kept pressing. "So... How do you feel about him?"

May gulped. "Eh?"

"You're not that dense, right?" Brianna crossed her arms and her voice tone changed to a slightly inquisitive one. "How do you feel about Drew?"

It was such a serious question that May noticed how her friend dropped her usual sugary voice. She blinked, feeling her heartstrings get tangled and compressed inside her chest.

"I-I..." She stuttered, stumbling on the words stuck in her throat. "I-It's... I think that's not important, huh?"

"Please answer me!" The redhead unconsciously raised her voice, clenching her fists in self-restrain. "Do you like him? Do you hate him?"

May was again trapped by that question - she knew that talking about her personal life was a choice, yet it felt very wrong to ignore the question and pretend again that everything was alright.

"I... I- I don't hate neither dislike him... He makes me mad sometimes but..." The taller coordinator fidgeted with her hair bangs, speaking in a weaker voice, "I know he's not a bad person! He does care about other people. I like him when he's nice. I just wish he were... Gentler. Drew's a good person."

"...That's all?"

Was that really everything? They were rivals and partners as well... _Not even friends? _

"Uh, I think we might be friends as well... Look, Brianna, I am not sure, we've never talked about that and—"

"—What do you mean by _I think we might_? May!" The shy girl suddenly became angry and disappointed. "You two are great rivals and friends, how can you doubt that! Ugh, that makes me feel so jealous..."

"_Jealous?_" The brunette coordinator felt her throat getting dry. "...Ehh?"

"I can't believe that's how you two deal with your relationship, how can you be so stubborn?" Hiding her face behind her hands, Brianna cried with a guilty tone in her voice. "This is so unfair... He's always so gentle with me... But you... You can reach and change him. You make him act differently!... And I can't do that."

"He's gentle to push me away from him..." Brianna stared at May with a worried expression, waiting for an answer or any reaction from her friend. "Do you have any idea how does that feel?"

May lowered her head and covered her face inside her hair bangs in silence; those words weren't only sincere but also harsh and direct.

"You run..." The small redhead folded her arms over her stomach. "You run all the time I ask about your feelings."

"I'm sorry..." May's eyes were dry but she felt completely breathless. "I..."

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Brianna," May replied with care, speaking in a confused voice. "Look..."

_She heard the song of the eternal waltz playing in her head. In the conscious dream, this time she was alone by herself in the ballroom - Drew had left her._

"I like being close to him..." May closed her eyes, holding her hands together. "...But I don't want to lose this. Every time I dare to get closer to him, we hurt each other. I'm afraid I'll mess up and lose him..."

_Only May standing in the balcony, no more red roses neither the fresh scent of his hair._

"I don't want Drew to hate me, Brianna... I want to be with him, I don't matter if I can't get closer but I don't to lose him! This is scary, I don't want us to fight because we're trying to get closer..."

The redhead held her friend's shaking arm, trying her best to not cry or yell at her.

"May, I... I like you a lot. Listen, this is very hard for me to say..." Brianna took a long breath, trying to calm herself. "I..."

"...I can't just hide my feelings forever in respect to you, not if you don't even bother playing it fair with me!" She lowered her head in frustration. "Please, don't say he's not your friend. He's our friend, of course he is! You know you're his friend, denying this would only break his heart. And yours... And mine."

"Brianna..."

"I know it's a selfish wish but... Please, think about it and tell your feelings to him. If you know everything you don't like about him... Tell him as well the good things. Please?..." The redhead stood in front of her veteran, very misty-eyed. "Please, do it for me. I think this way is a good start to you two get back together, I'm sure this is a huge misunderstanding..."

"Y-You shouldn't wait for me..." May bit her lower lip, trying to find comforting words to her friend; she felt bad for not being able to tell her anything. "You don't need to hide your feelings if you think you should confess them..."

"...Let's not teach each other about_ hiding our own feelings_, okay?" Brianna rolled her eyes out in an unusual upset way. "I am probably going to get rejected again... Like I was last time we had lunch together. See, this is _not_ an _easy_ thing."

"Brianna... I... I am sorry."

"To be honest..." The heartbroken girl sat down on her bed, then grabbed a large pillow in her arms and sunk her face inside it. "Well, I'm being stupid... You don't owe me any answers, right?"

"There's nothing fair about falling in love and not loving someone back..." She mouthed her lament, so nobody else by herself could hear them. "Anyway..."

Brianna turned the lights off, hiding herself under the blankets.

The brunette took a long breath, thinking about her choices and behavior. She walked to the bathroom and stopped in front of its door.

"I... I don't know what I feel... But I'll think carefully about it."

"May..." Brianna furrowed her eyebrows, clutching herself tightly to the bedsheets. "...Will you really do that for me?"

"No," Her reply was short, but embed with an honest emotion. May paused for a moment before completing adding her final words. "I'll do it for myself."

"Then it's good..." The younger coordinator closed her eyes and softened her tough and severe expression. "Good night, May."

"Good night, Brianna..."


	16. Chapter 16: The questions

** Chapter 16: The questions**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** May and Drew really impressed the judges - but apparently their intense tension got out of control and exploded into a really nasty conflict... The two coordinators argued and discussed against each other; what's going to happen between them?

I am sorry about the huge hiatus time... It took some time for me to adapt myself in my new place and I need to finish tons of stuff before February - but Spring break is coming soon! Yay, more time to write and finish my unpublished drafts~ Maybe during Spring break I'll edit older chapters and polish up this story, I'm not really satisfied with the current version of this story... Would you like more updates from other stories or a better version of this one? :o

Thank you very much for the attention and for the patience! I'm really grateful and I hope to see you guys soon in March! :)

* * *

><p>LaRousse City never stops. Even though in its early hours of the day, all the stores are already opened, block bots are efficiently patrolling the bureaucratic system and many people are awake walking on the automatic streets. The Contest Week is a huge event, yet it doesn't change Larousse's typical schedule.<p>

May was watching these early hours of the city from inside a small coffee shop, not much aware of these small nice details. Her head was too busy with some other thoughts...

"Drew..."

The brunette coordinator played with the straw of the big milkshake cup in front of her, eyes still heavy from an almost sleepless night. She kept wondering about what Brianna had told her, although thinking of good things about her rival was a _struggling difficulty_. Unconsciously or not, something inside her mind wanted to prevent her of thinking about those feelings.

Why was it so scary to think how good it was to spend her free time with him?... Why was it so scary to accept that Drew was such a likeable person - he had some unpredictable reactions from time to time, yet she liked him a lot... How _intense_ was that 'a lot'?

May didn't know the exact answer - however, she knew she just liked Drew a lot and disliked even more being in bad terms with him. The girl was still hurt from that harsh argument but, truth being told, now she wished she had the courage to apologize and end this awful situation.

She finally realized how stupidly both of them acted and... How hard it was to accept the fact they had to face each other soon.

"Ehhh, I don't know..."

That was heading to something so... _Awkward_.

Her head ached in confusion. Why was she being forced to think about all of this?

May took a long gulp from her drink, feeling extremely frustrated. That was much harder than she expected to be... Reflecting about your own emotions in an honest way shouldn't be so complicated. Why did she feel so embarrassed thinking about what she felt about Drew?

Rubbing her temples, she tried to focus and control her timid hesitation. "Maybe I..."

She opened her eyes wider, unsure if her eyes were tricking her or if that person in front of them was a true walking nightmare.

"Open the way for the dazzling ruler of your hearts!"

A tall man wearing a pink peach colored wig, red gloves and very familiar clothes magically entered the shop and sat next to May's couch. He fluttered his long eyelashes and crossed his legs in an elegant way, showing his toned and gorgeous legs. He was definitely the hottest and the most radiant woman inside the shop, grabbing everybody's attention.

That exquisite arrival completely disrupted May's concentration.

"Ehhh..." She stared at the sparkling figure by her side, completely stunned. "Ehhh?"

"It's a Mayday! Your Big Sis' Harledad is here to talk about serious grown-up stuff with you!"

Tossing his hair to the side, the cosplayer winked at his young friend in a sassy way. "That's right, Honey Lopunny. I won't accept 'no' as an answer!"

The brunette coordinator found out there was something more shocking than Grand Festival's 'Mayley' or Contest Week's 'Drewley'. Top Coordinator Harledad's detail accuracy became the number one of Harley's surprise list.

"...Ugh—" She coughed her vanilla milkshake in a terrified gasp. "—What is this thing?!"

A small vein pulsed on Harley's head, who cringed at the reaction - feeling obviously hurt, he tried to keep smiling and shining like a real diva would do.

"_Thing?_ Oh, hahaha, what a joke!" He pretended to be entertained by his rival's confusion. "It's _Harledad_, silly... Because the true original Solidad can't come herself here right now. It's also because I lovehate you dearly, you will never understand it!"

"You 'lovehate' me?..." The brunette frowned; _what kind of verb was that? _"Ehh... Harley, I promise we talk later, for now I need to..."

Harley stopped May's excuse in an abrupt way, by pulling her hair bangs without any warnings.

"Ayeeee!" She cried in horror, waving her arms up and down. "What are you doing?!"

"Putting some sense into your empty head!" He answered impatiently with a mocking voice. "Why are you so stupid?"

"That hurts!" The young coordinator tried to release her hair from those slender but strong hands, without much success. "Stop it!"

"Yeah, I know..." Harledad released his hands, making the coordinator girl sigh out loud in relief. "Can't your small brain understand that you cannot talk to him, _not yet_?"

May furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance. "What are you talking about?"

"Sol is in hell trying to talk with the little devil himself! Give her a hand, Drew is worse than a locked Cloyster and we are just trying to help you!" Glaring at the brunette with sharp eyes, Harley pressed his accusative finger on her nose. "You messed up some stuff, now wait before messing it up harder, alright?"

"I... I don't need _help_!" May blushed angrily at the Cacturne man. "That's not funny!"

"Yes, it is not funny... And we know you think that you don't need any help, but... Oh, surprise! You don't, _he does!_ Sorry, now that he screwed up things with you, who else besides Roserade and Sol can talk and listen to him?" Sighing dramatically, Harley clasped his hands together. "We ship you two so hard, don't let our favorite guilty pleasure die!"

"_Ship_?" The brunette girl stared at Harley. "What?"

"Oh, how innocent..." He giggled maliciously, hiding his lips behind a hand. "Anyway, stay here with me while Solidad tames the green dwarf beast. Just do that and we all should be fine... Oh, and tell me everything."

"Eh?..." May blinked in confusion. "_Everything_?..."

Harley was ready to start his investigations, gleeful sparks inside his bright eyes. He clapped his hands in excitement, grinning in curiosity.

"So... Tell me everything about Drew! I'm all ears. Confess it!"

"Confess what?" The brunette felt the back of her ears burning. "I have nothing to say."

"I'm going to psychoanalyze you, duh. Confess it all!"

* * *

><p>May wasn't expecting hearing anything remotely strange like that.<p>

"...Ahh?"

Tilting her head to the side, the brunette coordinator wondered how dangerous Harley's plan could be.

"It's confession time..." Pulling a pair of squared glasses from his false cleavage, the man in pink wig smiled like an efficient Nurse Joy. "Spill the beans! Tell me everything about your girlhood and deepest desires..."

"Eh..." May crooked her eyebrows in horror. "Harley..."

"So, what did happen in those times you met Drew during the CW?"

The girl blushed in scarlet shades, without knowing what to do. "I... I... Harley, _this is personal_."

"Give it a damn try," he answered plainly with a deadpan face. "Trust me for once, silly girl."

May raised an eyebrow - how could_ Harley_ complain about her trusting issues with him?

"I don't really remember everything." She looked away, trying to answer his question in the most vague manner as possible. "So many stuff happened these days."

"Stuff?" The Cacturne coordinator scribbled on his notes. "What kind of stuff?"

"CW is a busy event, we all did lots of stuff together!" May nodded, smiling in a fake but not too convincing way. Sweating in anxiety, she fidgeted with her fingers in a methodical way. "How about you, what were the biggest highlights for your in the past days?"

Harley eyes shimmered in surprise. "How about... Me?"

"Yeah!" The brunette nodded her head even more vigorously. She knew that Harley didn't resist talking about himself. "It is always great to hear your opinion!"

"Oh, CW was amazing! Yay, I had so much fun, I love glamorous events! All my pokemon enjoyed it very much! I loved Jasmine's battling workshop, Sol's beautiful opening speech, shopping treats for my beloved pokemon—"

"Ugh, little twerp! You're not helping!" The older coordinator tossed his hands in the air then groaned in annoyance. "C'mon, I am not asking too much, is it that hard to say what did you do in CW and what did happen in those few days you visited Drew in his house?"

"Yes," she answered immediately. "It is nothing of anyone's concern but ours?!"

"Are you that air-headed?" Harley snorted in a condescending way. "For Arceus, can't you remember at least how many times did you interact with moody grasshead in the past days? Oh my, your mental problem is so complex!"

"No!" May blushed, clenching her fists. "Why would I keep on track of that?!"

"Then you are that much air-headed!" The Cacturne coordinator tossed the glasses away from his face. "For Arceus, how can you be so dense, slow, stupid and absent-minded!"

"I'm not dense! Why are you saying these things to me?! I was living there the whole week, how can I remember—"

"WHAT."

Harley opened his eyes in an extremely shocked face, speechless.

"O-Oh..."

She felt the temperature of her cheeks raising while the iceberg inside her stomach sank and burned it in a freezing way. That creepy stare was so intense it was really disturbing her mind.

"Erhm..." The young brunette gulped, expecting for the worst. "I didn't say anything."

May felt a part of herself wanting to shot herself in disgust - however, even thought it was hard to accept it, another small part felt really relieved for speaking the truth. Perhaps now he would shut up for once...

The tall coordinator pointed a finger at May's face then covered his mouth with the other hand. She sighed, satisfied with the sudden end of their discussion.

However, the silence didn't last for too long.

"_Whaaaaaardhdjgfgnsdgtfkhfjuoug?! Oooooooooooo_!"

Harley exploded into glittery wavy rainbows rays shouting excited, high-pitched and random screams, firing bright shooting stars from his eyes, scaring many customers away from the small coffee shop.

"H-Harley..."

"I can hear the bells!" Still over excited, he declaimed his words to the few customers left. "My shipping is totally _canon_! Wohoooooo!"

May felt a huge awkward sweat drop rolling down from the back of her head.

"Alright, I've got my lesson... I'm sealing my lips."

* * *

><p>"Waait! Don't go, I'm not done with you!"<p>

The unusual 'girl talk' session wasn't working out that well as Harley had planned out. After confessing she had spent the whole week together with Drew, May simply shut up and refused to talk about any details about these days.

"I need to know what happened! Harledad won't be able to help his darlings if you act like the grumpy grasshead, c'mon!"

Why would she tell him anything? It was nothing of anyone's damn concern, right? Trying to empty her milkshake, May took a long sip with a boring look carved on her blank face.

Besides, what reaction would the Cacturne man have if he knew she not only shared a bed with Drew but also got locked in a closet with him in a stupid challenge? How about the innocent kisses and all those small intimate moments?

May watched the older coordinator try grabbing her attention by making a big crybaby face.

"I love you May, please don't ignore Harley..."

Her cheeks blushed a little, slightly bothered by such exaggerated and dramatic scene. She mentally cursed herself for being such a sensitive girl. "Harley, uh... Look, nothing happened. Drew only offered his place because I didn't have money to rent a place here in LaRousse then—"

"Hahaha, no way nothing happened between you two... Are you implying you only argued because of... _Whatever reasons_? Did he touch you in an inappropriate way? Ohh, I know, did he show you his kinky side and it scared you to death? So, is he really a boob man? I knew it, since that time I saw him spying on your cl—"

The brunette stared at her empty milkshake with a speechless look. She felt like throwing up.

"Harley... Drew would _never_ do that."

"See, we have now some dialogue here! There you go, are you ready? Spill the beans..." Twirling the tip of his peach-colored wig, he grinned in victory. "Let me help you..."

"Please, don't... It hurts, this is hard. I know you just want to help but I'd like to not talk about this now." The brunette crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive way. "I need some time, please. I am so confused..."

"I told you, _let me help you_..." Ignoring his rival's pleadings, Harley's grin got even wider. "I'm not your best friend but I'm your only hope now. C'mon, say it."

"I... Look, I don't want to sound rude or hurt your feelings but..." May muttered in misery, hiding her face in her hands. "You're not helping me at all, you know?"

"C'mon, it's easy!" The man pressured, putting his hands on his slender hips. "You like him or not! You don't like him or not, that's all!"

"It doesn't work like that!" She looked away, closing her eyes and clenching her fists. "Stop it, this is too hard..."

Harley shrugged, rolling his eyes out. "I need to hurt you, baby."

May raised her face to her rival with a hurt expression then unexpectedly hit her forehead on the table. The older coordinator sighed in a smug way, shaking his head in disappointment.

"What do you want from me, my sympathy? You want me to pat on your back and tell you everything is alright? Naaah, you don't deserve that from me..."

She rested her head on the table without answering anything, lifeless as a fainted person.

"May, sleeping won't solve your problem..." Harley poked the brunette's head with his index finger. "Stop being a drama queen, that's _my_ special title, not yours."

A muffled voice interrupted the silence for a moment.

"Why do I..."

* * *

><p>"...Why do I feel so guilty and ashamed?"<p>

Harley raised an eyebrow after hearing his rival's confession.

_What was that?_ At first, he wanted to whine and complain about the strange confession, calling May a silly air-headed teenager; however, something odd about her voice made the purple-haired coordinator get actually a little concerned about her situation.

He poked her head again but she didn't move a single inch from the table. Crossing his arms over his chest in a disturbed mood, Harley tried to answer the question.

"_Ashamed_? Oh, honey..." The Solidad cosplay rolled his eyes out again, sighing out loud. "Aren't you better than that to feel bad about this?"

May was weeping quietly, head still dropped in a defeated way; Harley could literally see the helplessness of the teenager girl being attacked by conflicted feelings. Trying to ease the tension, he spoke in a slightly friendlier voice.

"You need to be more open about your feelings or else things crumble down, you know? You're going to explode if you bottle up all this silly frustration inside your chest, May."

"Why is it so hard?" She kept her face hidden on the table, more tears forming in her eyes. "Why do I need to have an answer about my feelings? Why is it important to everybody..."

"I don't like this..." Clenching her fists in displeasure, the teenager struggled. "I just want to be with Drew! I'm just happy to be together with him, it doesn't matter if I love him or not!..."

"...I mean, does it? Is it too selfish to think like that?" May raised her crying face to her rival, unable to keep her face straight. "I feel so stupid..."

The older coordinator shrugged his shoulders, quite entertained by his rival's question and devastated face. "What's the problem about being selfish?"

"Why do I feel so stupid? Does it matter if it is love or not?..."

Harley suddenly felt nostalgic about his years of pure suffering for love; angry slaps on his face, rejected love letters, jealous boys laughing at him, mean girls laughing at his impossible infatuations, everybody mocking about poor little Harley...

...Now the poor little Harley was inside May's big blue eyes.

Unexpectedly, instead of feeling jealousy as usual, Harley felt a little softened by his little Miss Tent. How could he see himself in her eyes?!... It was such an irony to relate so much to her emotional suffering.

"Well..."

Harley took off the wig and changed seats, sitting now by May's side. Her face looked frowned like a frustrated Wigglytuff - Harley snorted, more in an amused than a mocking way. "Sometimes it does matter, sometimes... It doesn't. There's no fixed answer for that, Hun."

Harley's non-aggressive voice only made her emotions inside her chest go even more wilder. "Huh?"

"May, this can be always terrifying." The purple-haired coordinator sighed. "This is for everybody."

"Everything is so complicated!..." She cried, clearly very upset about her own feelings. "I just want to be with him, I don't want anyone questioning if the way I like him is love or not!"

"Yeah, it is complicated. Don't worry, you will always make weird things for infatuation and real love. This is a harsh fact, Sugar... _Love makes us stupid_."

May blinked in surprise.

"But I don't want to be stupid!" She cried, failing to hold her tears. "I... I- I don't want to cry!..."

Harley sighed, then patted his young nemesis on her back.

"Silly stubborn girl, tsc tsc. Go on, cry more!"

She looked at him with a puzzled face. "Eh?..."

The Cacturne coordinator opened his arms, speaking in an indifferent voice. "I told you, there's no use in holding your feelings. You'll feel better if you let everything go out now."

At first, the brunette was a bit too nervous to open herself and show her weakness. Her shoulders were shaking and her eyes showed some hesitation, however... The non-stop tears gave away how much tempted she was to accept his proposal.

"C'mon, hug the human tissue here before I change my mind." Harley closed his eyes, arms raised patiently waiting for the young coordinator. "You know this is a lifetime chance, don't you?"

"Waaaaah, Harley!"

May hugged his rival closer, holding him with eagerness - she wanted to believe that letting all her tears go away would make her chest feel lighter. Sobbing out loud, she buried her face into his chest, trying to look for some comfort and calm down her emotions.

Harley furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief. _Was she actually trying to trust him again_?

That took some time to truly compute in his mind. He felt some strange and warm sensation inside the bottom of his stomach - it was a good feeling.

__Not bad._ Maybe he could get used to that. _

"Oh..." He smiled in a cheeky way, feeling very important to May - for once in a positive way. "Yeah, go ahead! Cry me a river!..."

* * *

><p>After scaring away the customers and making May cry, Harley tossed some money on the table, grabbed the teenager's wrist then pulled her out of the store without any other warnings.<p>

From a nearby table, he had just listened to_ a lot_ of parts of the intimate conversation. Okay, maybe the_ whole conversation_... Sure it wasn't a very polite thing to eavesdrop a girl talk - but hey, Harley makes it hard to not draw attention to wherever he is.

Sighing a bit disappointed but at the same time relieved, the boy paid his ice cream and left the coffee shop, plotting one last plan before the end of CW.

"Guess I was the one who lost it, huh?" He sighed in a defeat way, yet smiled warmly right after that. "It's time to our grand battle then!"


	17. Chapter 17: The truth

**Welcome home ch17: The truth**

* * *

><p>The impatient looks at his PokeNav screen, the lack of excitement in his eyes, the slow steps... The instant Solidad saw Drew walking aimlessly in the crowded streets of the city, the Top Coordinator knew he was looking for the answer to some struggling question, even though the stubborn boy would never admit it.<p>

Solidad slowly reached her friend's pace and stopped by his side in silence, waiting for a permission to interrupt his musings. He didn't react at all, making her face frown softly in worry.

"What's wrong?"

Drew stared at his rival with a cryptic and blank face, unable to speak a proper answer. He shook his head in an attempt to mask his surprise in meeting her with his guard down - she pressed again, worried with his odd reaction.

"Are you alright? Drew..."

The young woman tried to touch his arm, a little reluctant at first. However, he didn't show any resistance to her approach - she decided to pull him into a moving track and change their route to a tranquil place.

Heading to a less crowded area of LaRousse, the Top Coordinator watched her young colleague with concern. He kept avoiding looking back at her, pretending to be more interested at the scenario around him. Dueling a battle of subtle signals against each other, the two friends tried to convince the other to surrender and listen to their words.

"If you don't like to see me speculating about yourself, please say something." Solidad released her hand from Drew's arm, carrying a calm yet serious expression on her face. "I am worried about you."

Drew sighed, finally speaking for once.

"Leave me, Solidad. I'm just enjoying so some time by myself... _I'm not glued to May,_ you know."

The Top Coordinator raised her eyebrows, a little startled with such odd answer. "...I didn't say that."

Jumping off the moving track, Drew shrugged his shoulders then walked away. His rival followed him, still not satisfied with his confusing answer.

The two coordinators crossed the gates of a small empty park, not filled up with flowers but still full of bright green bushes and trees. They walked for several minutes without exchanging a proper conversation, only scattered sentences without any significant meaning, until Solidad tried to raise that topic again.

"You can trust me." She stopped walking after her young friend, eyes still locked at his face. She attempted to force her way into Drew one more time, carrying an urging tone in her words. "I am always here, you know."

"I know," he replied in a bland voice. "Thanks for the concern."

The refreshing breeze blew some hair bangs out of her face, reminding Solidad how beautiful that day was besides how strange the mood between the two coordinators was at that moment. She discreetly checked the screen of her PokeDex and read Harley's new private message, sighing in relief._ At least he had found May... _"LaRousse is such a pretty city."

"It is," the young teenager flatly answered with the same expression on his face. "What do you want?"

The Top Coordinator tried to talk in the most gentle voice tone possible. "May I ask you something personal?"

Drew gave up running away from the inquiry, feeling too tired to oppose himself against his rival. Sitting on a bench, he sighed in defeat. "As if you had never tried to torture me with your questions..."

"Good." Solidad breathed slowly after finally hearing the first manifestations of an answer coming out from his mouth. Choosing her words carefully, she looked away for a moment. "So..."

Drew crossed his arms over his chest, showing already signals of impatience. Ignoring the defensive stance, the Top Coordinator began speaking in a quieter and softer.

"...You figured out you like May for real, didn't you?"

The teenager stopped tapping his fingers on his arm and avoided looking at his friend, lowering his head discreetly.

"It is beyond finding her a pretty girl or a good coordinator, isn't it? I know you had some feelings for her..." The peach-haired woman crossed her arms in a reflexive manner, copying his mannerisms. "...But you never let me talk about it."

"And your point is?..." The boy replied in an abrasive tone, a slightly pink tones showing up on his cheeks. "Congratulations, you are a genius. Happy now?"

"Of course I'm happy for you." Solidad couldn't help but smile a bit after hearing the truth. He scowled at her, not slightly amused with her natural reaction. "The point is, you can't shoot a flamethrower every time somebody brings this issue out."

"It doesn't matter." Drew didn't frown neither sighed after declaring his defeat. "See, we are mature people, now let's end this and—"

"That's not the Drew everybody knows..."

She watched the serious expression in her rival's face with a tint of sadness. "...Don't tell me he's afraid of getting hurt."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" He replied in a clearly bothered voice, trying to force Solidad away without being too brusque. It didn't work that well because his feelings were definitely getting in the way. "You don't know me, you don't know May, you don't know what's going on. Who are you to say these things to me?"

"Your confidant?"

Solidad's gaze focused at Drew's furtive eyes. He stared back, clearly perturbed by her stern expression. She completed her words, nodding her head in a solemn way. "Not only confidant but your friend. As always, Drew."

The green-haired coordinator tossed his head back and spread his arms on the bench, losing his hopes of escaping from Solidad's tricky questions.

"Geez..." He muttered in a weaker voice, no longer in a threatening way. "...You'll never give up, huh."

"Uh-hum." Solidad confirmed by nodding her head, eyes still locked on Drew's face. "This is something that matters."

"Sol... You don't need to go easy on me, you know that, right?"

She opened a tiny smile, raising an index finger in front of her lips. "I don't think that opening your heart to someone is easy stuff..."

The young prodigy teenager relaxed his tense expression a little.

"...But I think you're running away." the Top Coordinator calmly criticized in a neutral voice, looking up at the windmills moving with the breeze of the end of evening. "I always see you taking big challenges, but when you face your emotional fears..."

"Look... Don't remember my past, that's enough humiliation about my weak side," The green-haired boy shrugged and let a pathetic sigh escape. "I just cried that time, _once_... Did you come here just to laugh at me?"

"For Arceus... I am not talking about that, you're missing my point." The veteran coordinator shook her head, trying to be as much patient as possible. Dealing with Drew and his moody side wasn't easy. "I'm not laughing... Imperfection is perfectly fine. Mistakes happen but they are important in life, you shouldn't be afraid of trying just because other people might know you've failed once..."

"Easy to tell the others to not be afraid when you are not the one in my shoes," the boy muttered more bitterly than usual, "really."

"I know it's not easy, of course I have difficulties in dealing with my own fears," Solidad replied with a confident voice, insisting on the issue. "But if this time you turn your back, this will hurt you a lot. You must insist, trust me."

"Oh..." The green-haired boy smirked, shaking his head in disbelief. "_She_ is the one who doesn't want to talk to me anymore. Why should I insist?"

Solidad closed her eyes. "May will never understand you if you don't give her another chance. If you refuse to go after her... She will never get to see the real you. You want to talk to her but your pride gets in the way, doesn't it?..."

"Huh?" The temperature in his face rose up. "I'm not—"

"...Being stubborn AND too proud of yourself is a big problem for your relationship, Drew. Both of you are too stubborn and prideful. You understand what I mean?"

Drew clenched his fists in an instinctive reaction to suppress his feelings. Doing an extra effort to keep his mind cool, he quickly answered Solidad in a quick and troubled voice. "No... Wait, I mean, I do, but..."

The two coordinator stared each other in a heated silence, for a long and dragging minute.

"...I'm sorry." She frowned, unsure about how to talk with her friend anymore. Lowering her gaze, Solidad cut the tension between the coordinators. "I guess I'm being too forceful..."

Unwrapping a small round package of red sweet candies, Solidad put one in her mouth and offered another one to the young coordinator, placing it on his right hand.

"No, thanks..."

"Take one, Drew. Harley's favorites, it's nothing like his cookies... These are actually really good."

Savoring the flavor, Solidad closed her eyes for a moment. Meanwhile, Drew opened his palm then examined the round sweet in his hands.

"Strawberry candy..."

Suddenly, he felt his chest heavy and the bottom of his stomach sinking. Something about the scent of the candy triggered an explosion of memories and feelings inside his chest; it was a mix of subtle happiness, mild desire and strong disappointment. Everything at the same time.

"Why..." The boy muttered in a regretful voice. "Why couldn't she understand it's hard to admit I was wrong?..."

"Perhaps you should show what you like about her, not what bothers you—"

"—But I don't want to love her knowing she likes somebody else like I do love her! I don't know if that was a misconception or not, it drives me mad just thinking that my nightmare could be real!"

"Huh?..." Solidad was caught by surprise, blinking in confusion. "Drew, what are you talking about—"

"I love her! I like her since the first day we met, okay?!" Drew started blurting his feelings out in a frantic voice, "it wasn't anything serious at first, I mean, I only wanted to—Argh! I don't know, my feelings are messed up and I started liking her for real! I didn't choose to like her..."

"...I didn't have any choice!" He locked his fingers into his head, messing with the bangs of his perfect hair. "May is sweet, hardworking and dorky! And damn beautiful! I love her smile, I love her clumsiness, I love spending all my time with her! I think she loves someone else but I want to be by her side and I want her to wish the same! This is driving me crazy!"

Solidad clutched her hands close to her heart, still unsure about how to react to his confession. "Drew..."

The boy lowered his arms, speaking in an honestly surprised voice. "Damn, Solidad... I really love May! It's _impossible_ to not like her!"

Silence again.

* * *

><p>"So it was... It is really true," Solidad whispered with an astonished voice, then muttered in a soft way. "...Wow."<p>

"Ugh..." Drew panicked, slowly realizing what had just happened, his heart almost jumping off his throat in terror. "Eh..."

"Wow, you have no idea how... This is such a special moment! I feel honored to have listened to you saying what you feel about May. It's truly... Endearing." She smiled, closing her eyes in delight. "Hahaha, May is such a _special_ girl, wow..."

Drew coughed, trying to gain his pride back. He considered complaining about Solidad's radical change of opinion - but decided to silence himself in defense of his hurt pride.

"You should tell her this," the Top Coordinator spoke with a reticent voice. "Tell her the truth."

"What truth?" Drew questioned with an embarrassed voice, actually without sarcasm in his intonation. "That everybody will laugh after they find out the truth?..."

"Be selfish." Solidad nodded. "You don't owe explanations to anyone."

The boy frowned in horror as if his friend had just said the biggest absurd in her life.

"Believe me, I am not as close to May as you are but I know she will listen..." She added, smiling to herself. "And like it, returning your feelings or not. Your confession is a very precious gift, Drew."

"I said horrible things to her." He furrowed his brows in a timid expression. "How that's supposed to be a gift..."

"Apologize May first, what else? Show her you know you were wrong." The peach-haired coordinator shrugged. "Then confess your feelings to her... I think part of your fear and jealousy might fade away after you tell her the truth."

"H-How..." Drew's ears got redder after hearing the expression 'confess your feelings'. "Sol, she has other person on mind..."

"I think you should try being more obnoxious about that..." Solidad winked, raising a finger in the air. "Tell May how she's a lucky girl. Make Harley jealous showing him you are more sensitive than he is. Make yourself to show up on her mind with good feelings... Prove me I'm wrong when I say you always run away from your fears!"

"Why do you enjoy so much torturing me?..."

The green-haired boy scratched the corner of his eyes, failing to hide his utter embarrassment about this discussion. He wanted to disappear of discomfort, rewind the present and erase the reckless confession outburst from his mouth.

However, even though he would never admit it, a lock from deep inside his chest fell on the floor.

"Because I want to see you happy." She chuckled, smiling with motherly eyes. "You're my little burden."

* * *

><p>The bright blue skies of LaRousse were slowly merging with orange colors, announcing the beginning of sunset time in a couple of hours.<p>

Close to the train station, some people and their pokemon could be seen carrying tables and screens for the CW party in the next day. Drew observed them quietly, musing if he should message the others asking if they were all going together to the closing ceremony - however, a huge figure blocked his way.

Sid stopped Drew by standing in front of him, grinning mischievously at the young coordinator.

"Promise is a promise, dude... Let's battle, it will be fun!"

Ignoring the big boy, Drew flicked his hair bangs away from his eyes. He really had to find May and talk to her. "Not now, please. If you excuse me..."

"Ah... Wait!" Sid comically waved his arms in distress, trying to stop his opponent from running away. The green-haired teenager sighed at the desperate attempt to grab his attention. "It has to be now! Don't spoil the moment, man!"

Drew wondered what could be a special moment to the pokemon trainer, but refused to make the dialogue longer. "Sorry, maybe later..."

Sid didn't want to give up on his love rival that easily. He knew how to catch that elusive and stubborn fish - he wouldn't miss the opportunity to carry out his triumphal plan.

"Battling is a good exercise to ease the mind and keep the brain sharp," the chubby boy suggested in a teasing tone, rubbing hands in excitement. "I think you need some relaxing, pal. You look stressed... You should look smooth instead! That's how girls like it."

The green-haired coordinator raised an eyebrow in suspicion, without saying a word. He hooked the bait perfectly.

The big trainer just snickered in a lighthearted way. "Let's battle! I promise I won't bother you after this... Pleeease?"

"If you insist..."

Grabbing a pokeball from his belt, Drew called Roserade out. "...As long as we are done after this battle, then you have a deal."

"Rose..." The flower pokemon entered in a battle stance, ready to follow orders. "Roserade!"

"Right here? Ohhh, thank you!" Sid ran to the opposite side of the train station entrance, making room for the duel. Tossing a pokeball in the air, he announced his pick in a fiery voice. "Blastoise, it's time to rock!"

The signature Pokemon of the trainer from South city roared with determination, stretching its long arms and legs.

"Roserade!" Drew opened up the battle with his first offensive command. "Magical Leaf, let's go!"

While the roses of Roserade began glowing in a light green aura, Sid ordered a counter-attack to Blastoise. "Prepare for the defense, Blastoise! Water Gun it away!"

Before the grass attack could directly harm the water pokemon, a powerful blast of water held the impact of the Magical Leaf attack. Blastoise was unable to avoid some cuts, getting the skin a little injured by the sharp blades.

"Careful, he's ready to insist on that attack!" Sid warned his partner, paying attention to Roserade's moves. "Hydro Pump!"

The elegant pokemon glided through the small path between the strong blasts of water coming from Blastoise's cannons. Roserade rushed into the direction of the big opponent, trying to find a weak point and analyse the situation.

"Rosee!" The rose pokemon shouted to the green-haired boy, pointing to Blastoise's feet. "Rose, rosee!"

"Okay, got it!" Drew replied, raising his hands quickly in the air. "Stun Spore, Roserade!"

Joining her hands together, the plant pokemon produced and emitted a light powder that looked like golden pollen. It quickly got glued to Blastoise, making the water pokemon cry in discomfort.

"Ok, buddy... Hydro Pump again!" Sid insisted on the same attack. "You can do it!"

"Magical Leaf!"

Blastoise charged his cannons to the tiny flower pokemon - however, it easily dodged the water blasts by spinning its agile body into elegant pirouettes. Affected by the spores, Blastoise's movement got heavier and slower. Roserade's leaves hit freely without a proper defense against the attack, making the opponent take full damage this time.

"Not bad, huh..." Sid smiled, enjoying the challenge in front of him. "You're taking this seriously! Smart strategy, I like that."

Drew flicked the tip of his hair bangs then let a small polite smile show up on his lips. "Well, it's a formal challenge."

"By the way, I heard Babe was incredibly hot wearing a sexy dress yesterday!" The fiery trainer sighed with a romantic and dramatic pose. "Did you choose that piece for her?"

"H-Huh?" The coordinator gasped, suddenly confused by his opponent's comment. "What?"

"Blastoise, duck!" The trainer winked then ordered his partner to defend itself inside its thick shell. "Block that advantage from him!"

"Wait!" Drew raised his voice at Sid, almost ordering Roserade to aim at the chubby trainer instead of the big turtle pokemon. "What does she has to do with our battle?!"

"This is as a real duel, man!" The sharp trainer grinned in sheer provocation. "As I told you, this fight will show you who deserves May's golden heart... Blastoise, up to the air!"

Sid's starter pulled its head, arms, legs and cannons into its shell. Protected by the thick defense, the turtle pokemon jumped to a higher height by spinning very fast like a disc.

"Rapid Spin!" Sid shouted to his partner. "Let's end this!"

A small crowded of bystanders surrounded the improvised battle stage, their curiosity raised by the intense conflict happening in front of the train station.

Roserade dodged the fast counter attack with quick jumps, waiting for an order from Drew.

"This is stupid..." The confused coordinator unconsciously raised his voice at his opponent, pointing a threatening finger at him. "...You cannot battle for something like that!"

He looked up at the sky and calculated a chance of using Solar Beam with the last strong sun rays of the evening. "Roserade, charge!"

"Oooh..." The boy from South city snorted. "But I thought you were the type of guy who enjoyed being romantic. Aren't love duels romantic? I just want to take my chance while you don't make up your mind about May, you know?"

"I..." Drew's voice died for a moment, yet he managed to turn his blushing face away and stop himself from not completing his words. He forced himself to imagine that the nosy crowd wasn't paying attention to their conversation. "Who said I didn't make up my mind?..."

Sid stopped smiling in surprise. "Oh?"

"Did I hear it right?" He added in an interested and curious voice, then cocked his head to the side. "Say it again?"

The green-haired teenager repeated in a more confident voice, still facing a random tile on the wall of the train station. "I know what I feel about her."

"Could you repeat it once more?"

"Roserade," Drew cut request with an attack command, eyes focused again on the battle. "Solar Beam, now!"

A bright ball of light began glowing in the hands of the small rose pokemon. It was not as strong as usual but ready to inflict enough damage to a water pokemon. Roserade would have a great change to win the battle if that beam hit Blastoise on his chest.

"So we're playing type weakness now... Blastoise, stop spinning!" Sid's grin returned even larger, ready to finish the battle. He crackled his knuckles in excitement, ready to show the secret weapon of his pokemon. "Alright, we got it... Ice Beam!"

"Huh?" Drew's eyes got wider in shock. "_An ice move?_"

The turtle pokemon lowered its cannon on the back then had his mouth wide opened to discharge a freezing way at Roserade.

"Roserade, careful!"

The energy beams clashed against each other, flashing a blinding light around the battling pokemon. Due to the explosion, a dome of dust raised from the streets, making it hard to see what happened after the impact.

Both teenagers shielded their eyes in instinct and opened them back slowly, trying to detect the results of the blast.

* * *

><p>After the dust lowered, the results of the fight were very clear. Roserade was tired, standing up with barely no conditions to keep on battling. The Solar Beam was effective; however, taking the Ice Beam back directly without expecting it was too much for the masquerade pokemon.<p>

It was an intense clash - the battle ground was almost silent, except for Roserade's exhausted breathing. Everybody looked at the other pokemon, speechless.

Blastoise was also very tired, yet standing still with a raised head.

"This is my boy..." Sid crossed his arms in a solemn way, watching proudly his partner roaring in a display of power. "That was pretty good."

"That's it..." The coordinator admitted defeat, lowering his head in frustration. "End it, Sid."

"Yes, I think so." The other boy nodded. "Blastoise! Great job, buddy. Now, return!"

The boy from LaRousse blinked in confusion. "Eh?..."

Calling his pokemon back to its pokeball, Sid smiled. "We're done for today. You won!"

Drew stared at his opponent with disconcerted and puzzled looks. Roserade sat on the ground, very tired and confused as well.

"Thanks for fighting me, that was an awesome duel!" The chubby trainer ran to the green-haired boy then shook his hands in congratulations. Drew jumped up and down, moved by the strength of the taller teenager. "Congratulations!"

"Dude, that was incredibly fun. I wish you weren't a coordinator, hahaha!"

"Sid..." Drew felt a vein popping out his forehead. He couldn't complete his sentence because an unwanted bear hug crushed his ribs with full force. "Ugh!"

"I know when I lose, man... You won, what can I do?" Releasing his arms from the shorter boy and sticking his tongue out playfully, Sid cringed a bit. "I really had a chance in the first time and I thought now I could win this... But you're a tough man, did you know that?"

"Rose..." Roserade muttered to herself, slowly realizing what was going on. "Roserade?"

The green-haired boy called his pokemon back. "Thank you, Roserade."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Sid shrugged. "Bri promised introducing me to your fan club. I heard some awesome ladies adore you, maybe I can meet a special girl when they all get heart-broken... Well, _if_ that happens, I suppose. So help me out, dude."

Drew arched his eyebrows, feeling slightly offended and even more confused by the random comment about his fan club. "You're joking?"

"No, I'm being totally serious. Even though she didn't notice it... She chose you, Drew. Of course you still have a chance to screw it up, but you can win this for real. Now it's up to you to make it work or not, you know? Stick to your original plan, mate."

"Me?" That unexpected answer made the coordinator open his thoughts again for an instant. "...May?"

Sid just smiled. "That's why you're the winner no matter how many battles we fight... Dude, don't miss that chance."

"You..." The green-haired boy felt his cheeks flustered once more. "How did you know..."

"It is very, very, very _obvious_." The trainer pouted, crossing his arms around his chest. "Everybody but you two noticed that, for sure."

"Oh." Avoiding leading the conversation to another embarrassing talk, Drew immediately closed the topic with a weak conclusion. "...Okay."

"A little... Big and awesome Swellow told me she is coming back to your house soon and might be open to talk now that whatever happened between you two chilled out... Go for it."

Drew blinked. Sid just smiled, grinning in a satisfied way. "Tell her the truth this time, okay?"

"Sid... Thanks."

The big boy's grin got wider. "Tell her the truth!"

Drew knew it was about the time to tell her the truth. He wasn't ready but now was the right moment to go for it.

"I will."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I need my summer vacations! D:

I'm not done yet with all my assignments, but here's an update for you guys!

My computer died with all my documents and it is still being fixed on maintenance... I had to rewrite and type a lot of parts in a smartphone, that took some time. I am sorry about the huge delay between these last two chapters. /bows

Next chapter: [The new friendship]! Oh my, is that the last chapter already?


	18. Chapter 18: The new friendship

**Welcome Home chapter 18: The new friendship**

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><p>The sun was setting down and the water was colored in an orange-reddish tone, reflecting the last sparkles from the sunlight. Sitting on the border of the pier with her foot under the water, Drew saw May admiring the beautiful scenario, unaware of his presence. The sun was slowly waltzing to meet the horizon and the coordinator girl was absorbing every little detail of it.<p>

The teenager boy wanted really badly to just stay there in the background watching the brunette from far away, hoping they could pretend nothing had happened and everything was okay... However, he took a long breath and walked closer to her. No reason for excuses this time.

The truth. He needed to tell her the truth.

"Can I sit here?" Drew asked, gently tapping the brunette on her shoulder.

May flinched a bit after being touched, a little startled and agitated - still, she kept her lost gaze locked to the horizon, ignoring his question. He held the air in his lungs in anxiety, silently expecting a harsh answer from the coordinator girl. It was time to face the consequences.

What she answered instead wasn't anything bad, though. "This is so beautiful..."

Sitting by her side and looking at the colorful sunset in front of them, Drew solemnly agreed while nodding his head. "I've traveled a lot but this place still one of the best."

"I love..." May clutched her hand to her chest, lowering her voice to a whisper - she was still daydreaming with the beautiful reflection images all over the water and the sky. "I love how pretty LaRousse is."

"You know..." Taking off his shoes, he put them neatly next to May's colorful sneakers. "It's not right the way it is now."

"Not right?" The coordinator girl asked, without much surprise in her voice and hinting a rhetoric tone to her question. "What do you mean?"

"It is pretty. However, I just don't..." The green-haired teenager stopped, then spoke very slowly. "...Find it _fair_ it is going to bring not so good memories to you. _Can we fix it_?"

May slowly turned her sapphire eyes to her partner; she knew exactly what he was talking about.

Her rival had a disappointed expression on his face, clearly regretful about their previous argument. Staring at Drew's emerald eyes, the brunette completed with a reticent tone. "So... Yesterday."

He deserved that. He knew he deserved that cryptic stare from her.

"Exactly, about yesterday..." Drew looked tense, clearly trying to say something very hard for him to speak. "Look..."

He hated being wrong; being wrong and insecure about confessing his true feelings? _What a wonderful scenario_. But sometimes, even though it hurts, admitting being wrong is the right thing to do. Drew kept talking, letting his heart little by little enter his words. "I don't know exactly what should I... I mean, I know what to say but I don't know how it... May..."

The brunette paid more attention, fixing her gaze to his. "Yes?"

The air inside his lungs got rare for a couple of second because of that - but May's attention helped Drew keep going with their conversation.

"...You're angry with me?"

The boy cringed in mortification, quite aware of how badly he had just touched the awaited subject. However, Sid and Solidad's words kept hammering into his head and he just couldn't break the vows and promises after everything that had happened.

May arched her eyebrows a bit, unsure if she should be glad he was concerned about her feelings or annoyed for such blunt and obvious question. "Uh... _Yes?_"

"Hm... I am sadder than I am angry to tell you the truth." The brunette lowered her head, now unsure to where she should look at. "I know you're always teasing me and I am supposed to not take it that seriously, but... You really hurt me this time."

Drew took a long breath, trying to build up some courage to apologize. Teasing May was fun but there was no reason anymore to argue with her about that issue.

"May... I lost control and said some stupid nonsense stuff. These days were supposed to be fun but I screwed up. I don't know what I was thinking..." Scratching his head, the apology fainted in a whisper. "I'm really sorry. Could you forgive me about that?"

She pursued her lips, observing her rival's reactions and words with care.

"May, I... Got jealous for a stupid reason."

These words were really not easy to be said, especially for Drew.

"I— Ugh, I got angry for a stupid reason. I know. I'm sorry, May."

And she knew how it wasn't easy for him.

"Thank you..."

* * *

><p>The girl smiled to her friend for the first time after a whole long day mourning about their fight. She tried to cover her face - but even though it was just a small smile, it immediately gave a huge relief to his heart.<p>

"Why are you thanking me?" Drew sighed softly, in a mix of relief and confusion. "You don't need to do that."

"I..." She closed her eyes, feeling the wind blowing on her cheeks. "I don't know, I'm glad we sorted this out so quickly."

Some people would mock them for bickering so hard and apologizing to each other so fast; but feeling that their wounds could be healed was such a relief that May felt something watering her eyes. She tried to hold them, but tears couldn't stop falling even though she was feeling better now.

"What's wrong?" The boy frowned, a tone of worry slipping out in his voice. "Something still wrong?"

"It's alright now..." The brunette coordinator shook her head, sweetness and honesty in her voice. "You made it easier than I thought it would be, hehe."

Drew just blinked with a blank expression, still fairly lost. May held the back of her neck, too self-conscious of her dull words and reactions. "Oh, I mean, almost everything is alright. So, about your face... I didn't really mean to—"

"Ah... I _kinda deserved that_, honestly. I was a big jerk, don't be sorry for that." He shrugged his shoulders, smirking in a playful way. "Sorry, it's hard to be perfect 24 hours a day."

"_Perfect_?" May rolled her eyes out, huffing in protest. "Hey, we've just had a big argument here."

"Always perfect." Drew flicked his hair in answer, trying to fork a smile from his rival. It was a success followed by a reprehension in a form of an arm slap. "My trademark."

It was his turn to flinch in surprise from an unexpected physical contact. May rested her head gently on his shoulder, trying to show she was happy to be by his side.

"You know... I finally understood some stuff." Thinking about the last day at the coffee shop, she furrowed her eyebrows in a thoughtful face. "Can you believe it, from all people it was_ Harley_ who helped me figure it out these things."

"Oh," Drew answered in a forced uninterested tone; he was fully focused on not allowing his mind to melt in a puddle of strange feelings. "Harley?"

"I hurt you many times without realizing it," May muttered in a delicate voice, "...That really hurt, didn't it?... I didn't see neither understand how, now I do."

The sun now was dying faster, sinking straight into the water.

"I want to know you... I have to be more open about myself too if I want this." She closed her eyes in peace. "I want to share my thoughts and feelings with you, do you want to talk about anything specific?..."

The boy felt his body get tense again, with a sad grin on his face.

"I might lose my temper sometimes but—" Drew shook his head, trying to find words to explain himself. "—Oh well, it's you we're talking about. You give me plenty reasons to go crazy."

"It's _you_. It's hard to not lose my control," he completed, biting his lower lip in tension. Looking back to the darkening sky, he touched his chest and added in a lower tone. "You... Really mess me up here."

"Hey, c'mon! I'm not that terrible— Am I that bad?" In a slightly shocked tone, the brunette started laughing. She wept her tears away, giggling without control. "Don't blame me for that!"

He silently lamented the fact she stopped leaning on his shoulder to laugh about such silly comment.

"But you're not bad—I mean, _yes,_ you are, you only get the worst interpretation of what I say. You are a _terrible_ person." Placing the palm of his hand on his face, the boy sighed. "You think in a funny way. I need to be a blunt jerk or else—"

"How about changing the jerk part to a nice one?" May tilted her head to the side with a tiny cute smile. "It's not hard to be nice."

"I can be nice," the green-haired coordinator replied in a protesting tone. "But only sometimes. Not always."

"Why only sometimes?..." The brunette girl blurted out the truth, trying to hide her discomfort by looking away again and laughing quietly. "Uh, to be honest arguing with you can be fun from time to time but... It feels good when you go easy on me. Well, it's hard to explain..."

"I kinda... Feel like... I have this huge crush on your sweet side." She blushed, painfully aware that she was about to talk more than her introversion allowed to. "Hahaha... Silly, isn't it? My heart races when I think about that. You have no idea how many Butterfree fluttered inside my stomach when you kissed me that other day! Haha..."

No longer orange, the purple night sky covered the rivals with a delicate dark veil.

Drew felt his cheeks warmer seeing his friend talk about his gentler nature... And about that innocent and embarrassing kiss.

"_Do I need to explain everything_..." Already imagining her reaction, he coughed in anxiety and looked away from May in an equally vexed expression. "I'm shy."

"...Hm?" She tilted her head to the side in curiosity, asking her rival with a puzzled look in her eyes to repeat what he had just said. "Huh?"

"Yes, I do get nervous around you sometimes. Yes, I feel weird and weak..." The boy declared, raising his hands. "...Because you are _disarming_."

"There, I said it!" Watching his partner hold her laughter, Drew stared at her with a clearly annoyed look. "Are you happy now, I... _Alright, stop right there_."

May held her cheeks and busted out giggling, unable to hold by herself all the quirks about the honest answer. "Hahahaha... Awww!..."

"See? That's why no nice Drew for you, I can't let you use that against me!" The boy groaned, feeling too exposed. Solidad and Sid's ideas were just the worst for his ego. He added one more remark with a scarlet tone dyed in his face, "by the way, a pretty girl should never provoke a guy in towel with her body. Unless she wants to make him believe the act was on purpose and—"

"Nonononono! Can we please forget about that closet fiasco?" May's cheeks reddened even deeper. "Forget about it!"

That was now Drew's cue to laugh; she sunk her burning face into her hands.

Although quite embarrassed by his own words, now his shoulders felt much lighter. The green-haired teenager had finally broken free from the fear of the words about his feelings.

Maybe not about everything about his private thoughts... But that was a real beginning.

"I know annoying me is already part of you but..." The brunette nudged her forehead into his arm, his temperature as high as hers. "_You know how to be nice_! Honestly, I promise I won't bug you if you— What is this?"

Her words faded out after being silenced by a beautiful red rose. Drew gently put it in her clumsy fingers, covering them with his hands. "Drew?..."

"Small apology for yesterday's mess, okay? And this... This time the rose is for you, only. I mean, this one and all the other roses Roserade and my pokemon helped raising during this week, they are just for you. We dedicated their beauty and success to you. You are a good coordinator, an incredible rival. Never give up."

"You think so?..." May blinked, feeling her tears watering her eyes again in sheer surprise and happiness. She didn't mean to cry again but her heart was acting incredibly rebellious against her will. "...You really do?"

"Of course you are, silly. Thank you for the amazing days, they were very fun. Come back to LaRousse one day..."

The boy smiled, no smug or sarcasm look on his face. It was much easier to smile after the first jump into the unknown; he knew doing things like this exposed him a lot more than just making another witty remark... But his heart really wanted, at least once, let himself show directly to that girl his true feelings of tenderness.

After all, she deserved it.

"...You'll be welcome. Always."

May got her cheeks redder than the rose itself. She couldn't stop looking at Drew but at the same time she wanted to dig a deep Digglet hole and hide her face from the universe. Her hands were shaking. Her heart was beating so fast she felt her mind spinning.

Her feelings regard Drew...

"Drew, thank you..."

She had never thought about that, she had never wanted to think about it, so why the only thing she could think about was...

The boy clumsily tried to touch May's hair and calm her down, but their timid eyes met and both noticed how close they were from each other. Feeling too distracted by his sealed lips, she quickly derailed her thoughts into another topic. "Well... _Rivals forever_! Wasn't that our promise back there in the first years of our journey?"

_Not again. _She mentally cursed herself for pushing Drew away, who stopped moving his hand from her hair for a moment.

"Eh, forget it... W-Wait, don't stop!"

May's face went from red to purple, surprised with the pleading tone in her voice.

"No! I mean, yes... No!" Mortified, she stared at her rival with an incredibly despaired face. "That's not what I meant!..."

This time, Drew grinned softly and played with her longer hair bangs, fixing the rose in her trembling hands behind the hair strands above her ear. Speaking in a calm tone, he joked in a light tone, "I told you, I've plenty of reasons to go mad because of you."

"This is hard..." She whispered, clearly disappointed with herself. "I'm sorry!..."

"I know," the green-haired teenager replied with a reassuring voice, "I know it's not easy."

The brunette girl nodded frantically, thanking him for supporting her in that little introversion slip. He caressed her face with a delicate touch; her heart felt strange and funny in a good way.

Offering her small finger, May took a long breath then stared at Drew's eyes with a more confident glow inside her blue eyes.

"So, rivals forever... Let's make it friends forever too. It's a promise!"

Drew became speechless for a few seconds, then smirked loudly and sealed the promise with his small finger.

"It was about time, huh?"

With their fingers connected, after so many times together the two rivals finally sealed their friendship. But May wasn't expecting that her friend wouldn't loose the grip, holding her finger with his own after the promise was done.

"Drew?..."

"May... Now that we are formally and officially friends, could you tell me something?"

The brunette watched her friend with a gentle and timid gaze, waiting for the question and ignoring the slightly sarcastic tone in the beginning of his sentence.

"It's not '_nice_'..." Drew was now so close to her face that their nose were almost touching. "...You want more than '_nice_', isn't it."

"Ah..." May was actually not scared that her pinky finger was still connected to his. "Maybe..."

She released it for an instant and interlaced the other four fingers to his, opening up her heart for him. It wasn't a simple 'nice' neither an ambiguous 'maybe' - it was a clear voice telling the truth.

Drew pressed her hand with affection and raised her chin with his other hand, smiling without regrets.

That gesture was a trigger to confirm her feelings were definite. She knew what she wanted now.

May really wanted to follow by correcting her earlier answer - but all that she could do was mouthing a silent 'yes', quieter than her breathing.

It was no big deal, because Drew actually knew the true answer the moment she didn't slip away.

"Drew... _This is home_."

He didn't need to open his eyes to know her eyes were now closed too.

"Welcome home, May."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I can't believe I finally managed to finish this! Typing without a proper keyboard is such a torture /faints

Thank you very much for the support, the patience, the comments and favorites! This all means a lot. These past months were not easy and reading/writing has been a great comfort for my mind. I really appreciate every single message and thoughts you share with me. Thank you very much!

I plan to revise all chapters again after I finish the next and final part: there is an epilogue coming soon! It should wrap up this story and make it fully complete :)

Next and final chapter: [The Pink Sea]... Stay tuned!


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